Analysis of A Match
Algernon Charles Swinburne 1837 (London) – 1909 (London)
If love were what the rose is,
And I were like the leaf,
Our lives would grow together
In sad or singing weather,
Blown fields or flowerful closes,
Green pasture or gray grief;
If love were what the rose is,
And I were like the leaf.
If I were what the words are,
And love were like the tune,
With double sound and single
Delight our lips would mingle,
With kisses glad as birds are
That get sweet rain at noon;
If I were what the words are,
And love were like the tune.
If you were life, my darling,
And I your love were death,
We'd shine and snow together
Ere March made sweet the weather
With daffodil and starling
And hours of fruitful breath;
If you were life, my darling,
And I your love were death.
If you were thrall to sorrow,
And I were page to joy,
We'd play for lives and seasons
With loving looks and treasons
And tears of night and morrow
And laughs of maid and boy;
If you were thrall to sorrow,
And I were page to joy.
If you were April's lady,
And I were lord in May,
We'd throw with leaves for hours
And draw for days with flowers,
Till day like night were shady
And night were bright like day;
If you were April's lady,
And I were lord in May.
If you were queen of pleasure,
And I were king of pain,
We'd hunt down love together,
Pluck out his flying-feather,
And teach his feet a measure,
And find his mouth a rein;
If you were queen of pleasure,
And I were king of pain.
Scheme | ABccabAB DEffdeDE GHccghGH IJxaijIJ KLmmklKL CNcccnCN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101011 010101 10111010 0111010 111110 110111 1101011 010101 1101011 010101 1101010 01101110 1101111 111111 1101011 010101 1101110 011101 1101010 1111010 110010 0101101 1101110 011101 1101110 010111 1111010 110101 0111010 011101 1101110 010111 1101010 010101 1111110 0111110 1111010 010111 1101010 010101 1101110 010111 1111010 1111010 0111010 011101 1101110 010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,399 |
Words | 278 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 178 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 46 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 1:25 min read
- 303 Views
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"A Match" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1247/a-match>.
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