Analysis of Description of the restless state of a lover.
Henry Howard 1517 – 1547
WHEN youth had led me half the race
That Cupid's scourge had made me run ;
I looked back to mete the place
From whence my weary course begun.
And then I saw how my desire
By guiding ill had led the way :
Mine eyen, to greedy of their hire,
Had made me lose a better prey.
For when in sighs I spent the day,
And could not cloak my grief with game ;
The boiling smoke did still bewray
The present heat of secret flame.
And when salt tears do bain my breast,
Where Love his pleasant trains hath sown ;
Her beauty hath the fruits opprest,
Ere that the buds were sprung and blown.
And when mine eyen did still pursue
The flying chase of their request ;
Their greedy looks did oft renew
The hidden wound within my breast.
When every look these cheeks might stain,
From deadly pale to glowing red ;
By outward signs appeared plain,
To her for help my heart was fled.
But all too late Love learneth me
To paint all kind of colours new ;
To blind their eyes that else should see
My speckled cheeks with Cupid's hue.
And now the covert breast I claim,
That worshipp'd Cupid secretely ;
And nourished his sacred flame,
From whence no blazing sparks do fly.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD DECE FGFG HFHF IJIJ KHKH ELEL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 11111101 1111111 1111101 11110101 011111010 11011101 111101110 11110101 11011101 01111111 0101111 01011101 01111111 11110111 0101011 11010101 01111101 01011101 11011101 01010111 110011111 11011101 1101011 10111111 1111111 1111111 11111111 1101111 01010111 110101 0101101 11110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,153 |
Words | 217 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 112 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 1:06 min read
- 37 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Description of the restless state of a lover." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17392/description-of-the-restless-state-of-a-lover.>.
Discuss this Henry Howard poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In