Analysis of Upon the loss of his mistresses

Robert Herrick 1591 (London) – 1674 (Dean Prior)



I have lost, and lately, these
Many dainty mistresses:--
Stately Julia, prime of all;
Sapho next, a principal:
Smooth Anthea, for a skin
White, and heaven-like crystalline:
Sweet Electra, and the choice
Myrha, for the lute and voice.
Next, Corinna, for her wit,
And the graceful use of it;
With Perilla:--All are gone;
Only Herrick's left alone,
For to number sorrow by
Their departures hence, and die.


Scheme ABCDEFGGHHIJKK
Poetic Form
Metre 1110101 1010100 1010111 110100 1100101 1010110 1010001 110101 110101 0010111 11111 101101 1110101 1010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 397
Words 71
Sentences 3
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 308
Words per stanza (avg) 67
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 24, 2023

21 sec read
397

Robert Herrick

Robert Herrick was born in London, England, in 1591. He was apprenticed to a goldsmith (his uncle, Sir William), but went to Cambridge, at St John's, in 1613. He was ordained at Peterborough in 1623 and became chaplain to the Duke of Buckingham a few years later. "Hesperides" - a collection of 1200 lyrical poems - was published in 1648 and it remained his magnum opus. Herrick died in 1674, aged 83. more…

All Robert Herrick poems | Robert Herrick Books

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