Analysis of Sonnet VI: How Many Paltry Things

Michael Drayton 1563 (Hartshill) – 1631 (London)



How many paltry, foolish, painted things,
That now is coaches trouble every street,
Shall be forgotten, whom no Poet sings,
Ere they be well wrapt in their winding-sheet.
Where I to thee eternity shall give,
When nothing else remaineth of these days,
And Queens hereafter shall be glad to live
Upon the alms of thy superfluous praise.
Virgins and matrons, reading these my rhymes,
Shall be so much delighted with thy story
That they shall grieve they liv'd not in these times,
To have seen thee, their sex's only glory.
So shalt thou fly above the vulgar throng,
Still to survive in my immortal song.


Scheme ABABCDEDFGFGHH
Poetic Form
Metre 1101010101 11110101001 1101011101 1111101101 1111010011 11011111 0101011111 010111101 1001010111 11110101110 1111111011 1111111010 1111010101 1101010101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 608
Words 107
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 476
Words per stanza (avg) 105
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
67

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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