Analysis of A Song. Fair, Sweet And Young, Receive A Prize

John Dryden 1631 (Aldwincle) – 1631 (London)



1.
Fair, sweet, and young, receive a prize
Reserved for your victorious eyes:
From crowds, whom at your feet you see,
O pity, and distinguish me!
As I from thousand beauties more
Distinguish you, and only you adore.

2.
Your face for conquest was design'd,
Your every motion charms my mind;
Angels, when you your silence break,
Forget their hymns, to hear you speak;
But when at once they hear and view,
Are loth to mount, and long to stay with you.

3.
No graces can your form improve,
But all are lost, unless you love;
While that sweet passion you disdain,
Your veil and beauty are in vain:
In pity then prevent my fate,
For after dying all reprieve's too late.


Scheme ABBCCDD AEEXXFF AXXGGHH
Poetic Form
Metre 1 11010101 011101001 11111111 11000101 11110101 0101010101 1 11110101 110010111 10111101 01111111 11111101 1111011111 1 11011101 11110111 11110101 11010101 01010111 110101111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 650
Words 124
Sentences 8
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 7, 7, 7
Lines Amount 21
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 170
Words per stanza (avg) 41
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

37 sec read
126

John Dryden

John Dryden was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was made Poet Laureate in 1668. more…

All John Dryden poems | John Dryden Books

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