Analysis of A Song.

John Dryden 1631 (Aldwincle) – 1631 (London)



Go tell Amynta, gentle swain,
I would not die, nor dare complain:
Thy tuneful voice with numbers join,
Thy words will more prevail than mine.
To souls oppress'd and dumb with grief,
The gods ordain this kind relief;
That music should in sounds convey,
What dying lovers dare not say.

A sigh or tear perhaps she'll give,
But love on pity cannot live.
Tell her that hearts for hearts were made,
And love with love is only paid.
Tell her my pains so fast increase,
That soon they will be past redress;
But ah! the wretch that speechless lies,
Attends but death to close his eyes.


Scheme AAXXBBCC XXDDXXEE
Poetic Form
Metre 111101 11111101 11011101 11110111 11010111 01011101 11010101 11010111 01110111 11110101 10111101 01111101 10111101 11111101 11011101 01111111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 564
Words 107
Sentences 6
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 225
Words per stanza (avg) 53
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
4

John Dryden

John Dryden was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was made Poet Laureate in 1668. more…

All John Dryden poems | John Dryden Books

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