Analysis of Sonnet LXIII: Truce, Gentle Love

Michael Drayton 1563 (Hartshill) – 1631 (London)



Truce, gentle Love, a parley now I crave;
Methinks 'tis long since first these wars begun;
Nor thou nor I the better yet can have;
Bad is the match where neither party won.
I offer free conditions of fair peace,
My heart for hostage that it shall remain;
Discharge our forces, here let malice cease,
So for my pledge thou give me pledge again.
Or if no thing but death will serve thy turn,
Still thirsting for subversion of my state,
Do what thou canst, rase, massacre, and burn;
Let the world see the utmost of thy hate;
I send defiance, since, if overthrown,
Thou vanquishing, the conquest is my own.


Scheme ABCBDEDFGHGHII
Poetic Form
Metre 1101010111 111111101 1111010111 1101110101 1101010111 1111011101 01101011101 1111111101 1111111111 111010111 1111110001 101101111 110101101 11010111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 610
Words 113
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 468
Words per stanza (avg) 111
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 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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