Analysis of Ode

John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)



I. VENGEANCE will sit above our faults ; but till
She there do sit,
We see her not, nor them. Thus blind, yet still
We lead her way ; and thus, whilst we do ill,
We suffer it.

2. Unhappy he whom youth makes not beware
Of doing ill.
Enough we labour under age, and care ;
In number, th' errors of the last place are
The greatest still.

3. Yet we, that should the ill we now begin
As soon repent,
Strange thing ! perceive not ; our faults are not seen,
But past us ; neither felt, but only in
The punishment.

4. But we know ourselves least ; mere outward shows
Our minds so store,
That our souls no more than our eyes disclose
But form and colour. Only he who knows
Himself, knows more.


Scheme ABAAB CACXA DXXDX EFEEF
Poetic Form Tetractys  (30%)
Metre 110110110111 1111 1101111111 1101011111 1101 0101111101 1101 011110101 010111010111 0101 1111011101 1101 11011101111 1111011100 0100 11100111101 10111 110111110101 110110111 0111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 692
Words 133
Sentences 13
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 129
Words per stanza (avg) 35
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 24, 2023

39 sec read
123

John Donne

John Donne was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and a cleric in the Church of England. more…

All John Donne poems | John Donne Books

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    Repeated use of words for effect and emphasis is called ________.
    A assonance
    B rhythm
    C rhyme
    D repetition