The parcae; or, three dainty destinies:the armilet

Robert Herrick 1591 (London) – 1674 (Dean Prior)



Three lovely sisters working were,
As they were closely set,
Of soft and dainty maiden-hair,
A curious Armilet.
I, smiling, ask'd them what they did,
Fair Destinies all three?
Who told me they had drawn a thread
Of life, and 'twas for me.
They shew'd me then how fine 'twas spun
And I replied thereto;
'I care not now how soon 'tis done,
Or cut, if cut by you.'

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

21 sec read
378

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCBDEFEGBGH
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 358
Words 72
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12

Robert Herrick

Robert Herrick was born in London, England, in 1591. He was apprenticed to a goldsmith (his uncle, Sir William), but went to Cambridge, at St John's, in 1613. He was ordained at Peterborough in 1623 and became chaplain to the Duke of Buckingham a few years later. "Hesperides" - a collection of 1200 lyrical poems - was published in 1648 and it remained his magnum opus. Herrick died in 1674, aged 83. more…

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