A Singing Lesson

Algernon Charles Swinburne 1837 (London) – 1909 (London)



Far-fetched and dear-bought, as the proverb rehearses,
Is good, or was held so, for ladies:  but nought
In a song can be good if the turn of the verse is
  Far-fetched and dear-bought.

As the turn of a wave should it sound, and the thought
Ring smooth, and as light as the spray that disperses
Be the gleam of the words for the garb thereof wrought.

Let the soul in it shine through the sound as it pierces
Men's hearts with possession of music unsought;
For the bounties of song are no jealous god's mercies,
  Far-fetched and dear-bought.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

30 sec read
89

Quick analysis:

Scheme abaB bab abxB
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 538
Words 100
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 3, 4

Algernon Charles Swinburne

Algernon Charles Swinburne was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as Poems and Ballads, and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. Swinburne wrote about many taboo topics, such as lesbianism, cannibalism, sado-masochism, and anti-theism. His poems have many common motifs, such as the ocean, time, and death. Several historical people are featured in his poems, such as Sappho ("Sapphics"), Anactoria ("Anactoria"), Jesus ("Hymn to Proserpine": Galilaee, La. "Galilean") and Catullus ("To Catullus"). more…

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