Analysis of Sonnet LXXVIII: Body's Beauty

Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828 (London) – 1882 (Birchington-on-Sea)



Of Adam's first wife, Lilith, it is told
(The witch he loved before the gift of Eve,)
That, ere the snake's, her sweet tongue could deceive,
And her enchanted hair was the first gold.
And still she sits, young while the earth is old,
And, subtly of herself contemplative,
Draws men to watch the bright web she can weave,
Till heart and body and life are in its hold.
The rose and poppy are her flowers; for where
Is he not found, O Lilith, whom shed scent
And soft-shed kisses and soft sleep shall snare?
Lo! as that youth's eyes burned at thine, so went
Thy spell through him, and left his straight neck bent
And round his heart one strangling golden hair.


Scheme ABBAACBADEDEED
Poetic Form
Metre 1101110111 0111010111 1101011101 0001011011 0111110111 01001010100 1111011111 11010011011 01010101011 1111110111 0111001111 1111111111 1111011111 01111100101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 652
Words 126
Sentences 6
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 36
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 508
Words per stanza (avg) 123
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 01, 2023

38 sec read
278

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. more…

All Dante Gabriel Rossetti poems | Dante Gabriel Rossetti Books

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