Idea LIII: To the River Ancor

Michael Drayton 1563 (Hartshill) – 1631 (London)



Clear Ancor, on whose silver-sanded shore
   My soul-shrin'd saint, my fair Idea lies,
   O blessed brook, whose milk-white swans adore
   Thy crystal stream, refined by her eyes,
   Where sweet myrrh-breathing Zephyr in the spring
   Gently distills his nectar-dropping showers,
   Where nightingales in Arden sit and sing
   Amongst the dainty dew-impearled flowers;
   Say thus, fair brook, when thou shalt see thy queen:
  Lo, here thy shepherd spent his wand'ring years,
  And in these shades, dear nymph, he oft hath been,
  And here to thee he sacrific'd his tears.
  Fair Arden, thou my Tempe art alone,
  And thou, sweet Ancor, art my Helicon.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

31 sec read
33

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABCDCDEFGHIJ
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 647
Words 103
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Michael Drayton

Michael Drayton was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. more…

All Michael Drayton poems | Michael Drayton Books

0 fans

Discuss the poem Idea LIII: To the River Ancor with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Idea LIII: To the River Ancor" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/28101/idea-liii:-to-the-river-ancor>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    12
    days
    8
    hours
    19
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    What's the oldest written poem exist?
    A Iliad
    B Ramayana
    C Odyssey
    D Epic of Gilgamesh