Analysis of From A Satire Written To King James I
George Wither 1588 (Bentworth) – 1667
Did I not know a great man's power and might
In spite of innocence can smother right,
Colour his villainies to get esteem,
And make the honest man the villain seem?
I know it, and the world doth know 'tis true,
Yet I protest if such a man I knew,
That might my country prejudice or thee
Were he the greatest or the proudest he,
That breathes this day; if so it might be found
That any good to either might redound,
I unappalled, dare in such a case
Rip up his foulest crimes before his face,
Though for my labour I were sure to drop
Into the mouth of ruin without hope.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFGH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110111001 0111001101 1111101 0101010101 1110011111 111110111 1111010011 0101010101 1111111111 1101110101 1110101 111110111 111110111 0101110011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 564 |
Words | 115 |
Sentences | 3 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 443 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 113 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 94 Views
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"From A Satire Written To King James I" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15817/from-a-satire-written-to-king-james-i>.
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