Analysis of Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind

William Shakespeare 1564 (Stratford-upon-Avon) – 1616 (Stratford-upon-Avon)



Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.

Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most freindship if feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.

Freeze, freeze thou bitter sky,
That does not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As a friend remembered not.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.


Scheme aaabbx CcCC ddexxeCcCC
Poetic Form Etheree  (30%)
Metre 111101 111101 111 111111 011111 11111 11111100110 11110110110 111010 111110 111101 111111 110001 110101 111111 1010101 11111100110 110110110110 111010 111110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 629
Words 109
Sentences 11
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 6, 4, 10
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 160
Words per stanza (avg) 36
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 01, 2023

33 sec read
197

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". more…

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