On His Deceased Wife

John Milton 1608 (Cheapside) – 1674 (Chalfont St Giles)



METHOUGHT I saw my late espoused Saint
   Brought to me like Alcestis from the grave,
   Whom Joves great Son to her glad Husband gave,
   Rescu'd from death by force though pale and faint.
Mine as whom washt from spot of child-bed taint,
   Purification in the old Law did save,
   And such, as yet once more I trust to have
   Full sight of her in Heaven without restraint,
Came vested all in white, pure as her mind:
   Her face was vail'd, yet to my fancied sight,
   Love, sweetness, goodness, in her person shin'd
So clear, as in no face with more delight.
   But O as to embrace me she enclin'd
   I wak'd, she fled, and day brought back my night.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 18, 2023

37 sec read
233

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBAABCADEDEAE
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 662
Words 121
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

John Milton

John Milton was the Secretary of State of Georgia from 1777 to 1799. more…

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