Analysis of An Apology For Not Showing Her What I Had Wrote
William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)
Did not my Muse (what can she less?)
Perceive her own unworthiness,
Could she by some well-chosen theme,
But hope to merit your esteem,
She would not thus conceal her lays,
Ambitious to deserve your praise.
But should my Delia take offence,
And frown on her impertinence,
In silence, sorrowing and forlorn,
Would the despairing trifler mourn,
Curse her ill-tuned, unpleasing lute,
Then sigh and sit for ever mute.
In secret therefore let her play,
Squandering her idle notes away
In secret as she chants along,
Cheerful and careless in her song;
Nor heeds she whether harsh or clear
Free from each terror, every fear,
From that, of all most dreaded, free,
The terror of offending thee.
Scheme | AABBCCAADDEEFFGGHHII |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11111111 01011 11111101 11110101 11110101 01010111 1111011 01101 0101001 1001011 101111 11011101 0101101 100010101 01011101 10010001 11110111 111101001 11111101 01010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 675 |
Words | 120 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 20 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 542 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 117 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 36 sec read
- 61 Views
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"An Apology For Not Showing Her What I Had Wrote" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/39802/an-apology-for-not-showing-her-what-i-had-wrote>.
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