Jordan (I)
George Herbert 1593 (Montgomery) – 1633 (Bemerton)
Who says that fictions only and false hair
Become a verse? Is there no truth in beauty?
Is all good structure in a winding stair?
May no lines pass, except they do their duty
Not to a true, but painted chair?
Is it no verse, except enchanted groves
And sudden arbors shadow coarse-spun lines?
Must purling streams refresh a lover's loves?
Must all be veiled, while he that reads, divines,
Catching the sense at two removes?
Shepherds are honest people; let them sing:
Riddle who list, for me, and pull for Prime:
I envy no man's nightingale or spring;
Nor let them punish me with loss of rime,
Who plainly say, My God, My King.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 35 sec read
- 116 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABA CXXCX DEDED |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 635 |
Words | 117 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5 |
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"Jordan (I)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/15355/jordan-(i)>.
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