Analysis of The Merchant, To Secure His Treasure
Matthew Prior 1664 – 1721
The merchant, to secure his treasure,
Conveys it in a borrowed name:
Euphelia serves to grace my measure,
But Cloe is my real flame.
My softest verse, my darling lyre
Upon Euphelia's toilet lay—
When Cloe noted her desire
That I should sing, that I should play.
My lyre I tune, my voice I raise,
But with my numbers mix my sighs;
And whilst I sing Euphelia's praise,
I fix my soul on Cloe's eyes.
Fair Cloe blushed; Euphelia frowned:
I sung, and gazed; I played, and trembled:
And Venus to the Loves around
Remarked how ill we all dissembled.
Scheme | ABAB XCAC DEDE FXFF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 010101110 0110011 1111110 111111 11011101 011101 11100010 11111111 11111111 11110111 011111 1111111 11111 110111010 01010101 0111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 538 |
Words | 102 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 105 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 31 sec read
- 54 Views
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"The Merchant, To Secure His Treasure" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/27444/the-merchant%2C-to-secure-his-treasure>.
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