Analysis of Polyhymnia: Sonnet
George Peele 1556 (London) – 1596 (London)
His golden locks time hath to silver turn'd;
O time too swift, O swiftness never ceasing!
His youth 'gainst time and age hath ever spurn'd,
But spurn'd in vain; youth waneth by increasing:
Beauty, strength, youth, are flowers but fading seen;
Duty, faith, love, are roots, and ever green.
His helmet now shall make a hive for bees;
And lovers' sonnets turn'd to holy psalms,
A man-at-arms must now serve on his knees,
And feed on prayers, which are age his alms:
But though from court to cottage he depart,
His saint is sure of his unspotted heart.
And when he saddest sits in homely cell,
He'll teach his swains this carol for a song:
"Blest be the hearts that wish my sovereign well,
Curst be the souls that think her any wrong."
Goddess, allow this aged man his right,
To be your beadsman now that was your knight.
Scheme | ABABCC DEDEFF GHGHII |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101111101 11111101010 1111011101 1101111010 10111101101 1011110101 1101110111 0101011101 0111111111 011111111 1111110101 11111111 0111010101 1111110101 1101111101 1101110101 100111111 111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 808 |
Words | 152 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 18 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 210 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 50 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 25, 2023
- 46 sec read
- 116 Views
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"Polyhymnia: Sonnet" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15783/polyhymnia%3A-sonnet>.
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