Analysis of Phyrne

Alexander Pope 1688 (London) – 1744 (Twickenham)



Phryne had talents for mankind,
Open she was, and unconfin'd,
Like some free port of trade:
Merchants unloaded here their freight,
And Agents from each foreign state,
Here first their entry made.

Her learning and good breeding such,
Whether th' Italian or the Dutch,
Spaniards or French came to her:
To all obliging she'd appear:

'Twas
Si Signior
, 'twas
Yaw Mynheer
,
'Twas
S'il vous plaist, Monsieur.

Obscure by birth, renown'd by crimes,
Still changing names, religions, climes,
At length she turns a Bride:
In di'monds, pearls, and rich brocades,
She shines the first of batter'd jades,
And flutters in her pride.

So have I known those Insects fair
(Which curious Germans hold so rare)
Still vary shapes and dyes;
Still gain new Titles with new forms;
First grubs obscene, then wriggling worms,
Then painted butterflies.


Scheme aabccb ddex FeFe Fe gghiih jjkxxk
Poetic Form
Metre 1110111 1011001 111111 10010111 01011101 111101 01001101 1011010101 1011110 11010101 1 11 1 11 1 1 111101 01110111 11010101 111101 01110101 11011101 010001 1111111 110010111 110101 11110111 1101111 11010
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 808
Words 137
Sentences 5
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 6, 4, 7, 6, 6
Lines Amount 29
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 129
Words per stanza (avg) 27
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

42 sec read
74

Alexander Pope

Alexander Pope (1688-1744) is regarded as one of the greatest English poets, and the foremost poet of the early eighteenth century. He is best known for his satirical and discursive poetry, including The Rape of the Lock, The Dunciad, and An Essay on Criticism, as well as for his translation of Homer. more…

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