Analysis of Idea LIII: To the River Ancor

Michael Drayton 1563 (Hartshill) – 1631 (London)



Clear Ancor, on whose silver-sanded shore
   My soul-shrin'd saint, my fair Idea lies,
   O blessed brook, whose milk-white swans adore
   Thy crystal stream, refined by her eyes,
   Where sweet myrrh-breathing Zephyr in the spring
   Gently distills his nectar-dropping showers,
   Where nightingales in Arden sit and sing
   Amongst the dainty dew-impearled flowers;
   Say thus, fair brook, when thou shalt see thy queen:
  Lo, here thy shepherd spent his wand'ring years,
  And in these shades, dear nymph, he oft hath been,
  And here to thee he sacrific'd his tears.
  Fair Arden, thou my Tempe art alone,
  And thou, sweet Ancor, art my Helicon.


Scheme ABABCDCDEFGHIJ
Poetic Form
Metre 111110101 1111110101 111111101 110101101 1111010001 10011101010 11010101 010101110 1111111111 1111011111 0011111111 011111011 1101110101 01111110
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 647
Words 103
Sentences 3
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 487
Words per stanza (avg) 101
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

31 sec read
33

Michael Drayton

Michael Drayton was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. more…

All Michael Drayton poems | Michael Drayton Books

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