Analysis of A Dialogue between Old England and New
Anne Bradstreet 1612 (Northampton) – 1672 (Andover)
1 Alas, dear Mother, fairest Queen and best,
2 With honour, wealth, and peace happy and blest,
3 What ails thee hang thy head, and cross thine arms,
4 And sit i' the dust to sigh these sad alarms?
5 What deluge of new woes thus over-whelm
6 The glories of thy ever famous Realm?
7 What means this wailing tone, this mournful guise?
8 Ah, tell thy Daughter; she may sympathize.
9 Art ignorant indeed of these my woes,
10 Or must my forced tongue these griefs disclose,
11 And must my self dissect my tatter'd state,
12 Which Amazed Christendom stands wondering at?
13 And thou a child, a Limb, and dost not feel
14 My weak'ned fainting body now to reel?
15 This physic-purging-potion I have taken
16 Will bring Consumption or an Ague quaking,
17 Unless some Cordial thou fetch from high,
18 Which present help may ease my malady.
19 If I decease, dost think thou shalt survive?
20 Or by my wasting state dost think to thrive?
21 Then weigh our case, if 't be not justly sad.
22 Let me lament alone, while thou art glad.
23 And thus, alas, your state you much deplore
24 In general terms, but will not say wherefore.
25 What Medicine shall I seek to cure this woe,
26 If th' wound's so dangerous, I may not know?
27 But you, perhaps, would have me guess it out.
28 What, hath some Hengist like that Saxon stout
29 By fraud and force usurp'd thy flow'ring crown,
30 Or by tempestuous Wars thy fields trod down?
31 Or hath Canutus, that brave valiant Dane,
32 The regal peaceful Sceptre from thee ta'en?
33 Or is 't a Norman whose victorious hand
34 With English blood bedews thy conquered Land?
35 Or is 't intestine Wars that thus offend?
36 Do Maud and Stephen for the Crown contend?
37 Do Barons rise and side against their King,
38 And call in Foreign aid to help the thing?
39 Must Edward be depos'd? Or is 't the hour
40 That second Richard must be clapp'd i' th' Tower?
41 Or is it the fatal jar, again begun,
42 That from the red, white pricking Roses sprung?
43 Must Richmond's aid the Nobles now implore
44 To come and break the tushes of the Boar?
45 If none of these, dear Mother, what's your woe?
46 Pray, do not fear Spain's bragging Armado.
47 Doth your Ally, fair France, conspire your wrack,
48 Or doth the Scots play false behind your back?
49 Doth Holland quit you ill for all your love?
50 Whence is this storm, from Earth or Heaven above?
51 Is 't drought, is 't Famine, or is 't Pestilence?
52 Dost feel the smart, or fear the consequence?
53 Your humble Child entreats you shew your grief.
54 Though Arms nor Purse she hath for your relief--
55 Such is her poverty,--yet shall be found
56 A suppliant for your help, as she is bound.
57 I must confess some of those Sores you name
58 My beauteous Body at this present maim,
59 But foreign Foe nor feigned friend I fear,
60 For they have work enough, thou knowest, elsewhere.
61 Nor is it Alcie's son and Henry's Daughter
62 Whose proud contention cause this slaughter;
63 Nor Nobles siding to make John no King,
64 French Louis unjustly to the Crown to bring;
65 No Edward, Richard, to lose rule and life,
66 Nor no Lancastrians to renew old strife;
67 No Crook-backt Tyrant now usurps the Seat, 68 Whose tearing tusks did wound, and kill, and threat. 69 No Duke of
York nor Earl of March to soil
70 Their hands in Kindred's blood whom they did foil;
71 No need of Tudor Roses to unite:
72 None knows which is the Red or which the White.
73 Spain's braving Fleet a second time is sunk.
74 France knows how of my fury she hath drunk
75 By Edward third and Henry fifth of fame;
76 Her Lilies in my Arms avouch the same.
77 My Sister Scotland hurts me now no more,
78 Though she hath been injurious heretofore.
79 What Holland is, I am in some suspense,
80 But trust not much unto his Excellence.
81 For wants, sure some I feel, but more I fear;
82 And for the Pestilence, who knows how near?
83 Famine and Plague, two sisters of the Sword,
84 Destruction to a Land doth soon afford.
85 They're for my punishments ordain'd on high,
86 Unless thy tears prevent it speedily.
87 But yet I answer not what you demand
88 To shew the grievance of my troubled Land.
89 Before I tell the effect I'll shew the cause,
90 Which are my sins--the breach of sacred Laws:
91 Idolatry,
Scheme | AABBCCDD EEXXFFGHIJKKLL MMNNOOPPXXQQRRHHSSGXMMNATTUUVVWWXX CCYXSSHHZZU1 1 2 2 3 3 CCMMXVYY4 4 IJQQXXJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0111010101 111011001 1111110111 01101111101 1101111101 0101110101 1111011101 111101110 1100011111 111111101 0111011101 10110011001 0101010111 1111010111 1110101110 1101011110 011101111 1101111100 1101111101 1111011111 111011111101 1101011111 0101111101 0100111111 11001111111 111111001111 1101111111 111111101 110111111 1110011111 11111101 01010101111 111010101001 110111101 11101011101 1101010101 1101010111 0101011101 110101111010 1101011111110 11101010101 110111101 1101010101 1101010101 1111110111 11111101 11101101011 1101110111 1101111111 11111111001 1111110111100 1101110100 110111111 1111111101 1101001111 011111111 1101111111 111011101 110111111 111101111 1111101010 110101110 1101011111 11001010111 1101011101 11110111 1111011011101110101111 1111111 110111111 111101011 1111011101 1101010111 1111110111 1101010111 010011101 1101011111 1111010001 1101110101 1111101100 1111111111 0101001111 1001110101 0101011101 1111000111 0111011100 1111011101 1101011101 01110011101 1111011101 0100 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 4,400 |
Words | 823 |
Sentences | 49 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 14, 34, 34 |
Lines Amount | 90 |
Letters per line (avg) | 36 |
Words per line (avg) | 11 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 815 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 254 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 4:12 min read
- 175 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"A Dialogue between Old England and New" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/3067/a-dialogue-between-old-england-and-new>.
Discuss this Anne Bradstreet poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In