Nell and John

Matthew Prior 1664 – 1721



When Nell, given o'er by the doctor, was dying,
And John at the chimney stood decently crying,
'Tis in vain said the woman to make such ado,
For to our long home we must all of us go.

True, Nell, replied John; but what yet is the worst
For us that remain, the best always go first;
Remember, dear wife, that I said so last year,
When you lost your white heifer, and I my brown mare.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

24 sec read
351

Quick analysis:

Scheme AAXX BBXX
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 384
Words 79
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 4, 4

Matthew Prior

Matthew Prior was an English poet and diplomat. more…

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