Analysis of Song XVIII. - Imitated from the French

William Shenstone 1714 (Halesowen) – 1763 (Halesowen)



Yes, these are the scenes where with Iris I stray'd,
But short was her sway for so lovely a maid!
In the bloom of her youth to a cloister she run,
In the bloom of her graces too fair for a nun!
Ill-grounded, no doubt, a devotion must prove,
So fatal to beauty, so killing to love!

Yes, these are the meadows, the shrubs, and the plains,
Once the scene of my pleasures, the scene of my pains;
How many soft moments I spent in this grove!
How fair was my nymph! and how fervent my love!
Be still though, my Heart! thine emotion give o'er;
Remember, the season of love is no more.

With her how I stray'd amid fountains and bowers
Or loiter'd behind, and collected the flowers!
Then breathless with ardour my fair one pursued,
And to think with what kindness my garland she view'd!
But be still, my fond Heart! this emotion give o'er;
Fain wouldst thou forget thou must love her no more.


Scheme AABBXC DDXCEF GGHHEF
Poetic Form
Metre 11101111011 11101111001 001101101011 001101011101 11011001011 11011011011 1110101001 101111001111 11011011011 11111011011 111111010110 01001011111 101110110010 11010010010 1101111101 011111011011 1111111010110 11101111011
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 874
Words 170
Sentences 13
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 18
Letters per line (avg) 38
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 226
Words per stanza (avg) 56
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

52 sec read
108

William Shenstone

William Shenstone was an English poet and one of the earliest practitioners of landscape gardening through the development of his estate, The Leasowes. more…

All William Shenstone poems | William Shenstone Books

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