Analysis of The Shepherd Piping To The Fishes
Anne Kingsmill Finch 1661 – 1720 (Westminster)
A Shepherd seeking with his Lass
To shun the Heat of Day;
Was seated on the shadow'd Grass,
Near which a flowing Stream did pass,
And Fish within it play.
The Phillis he an Angle gave,
And bid her toss the Line;
For sure, quoth he, each Fish must have,
Who do's not seek to be thy Slave,
A harder Heart than mine.
Assemble here you watry Race,
Transportedly he cries;
And if, when you behold her Face,
You e'er desire to quit the Place,
You see not with my Eyes.
But you, perhaps, are by the Ear,
More easie to be caught;
If so, I have my Bagpipe here,
The only Musick that's not dear,
Nor in great Cities bought.
So sprightly was the Tune he chose,
And often did repeat;
That Phillis, tho' not up she rose,
Kept time with every thrilling Close,
And jigg'd upon her Seat.
But not a Fish wou'd nearer draw,
No Harmony or Charms,
Their frozen Blood, it seems, cou'd thaw,
Nor all they heard, nor all they saw
Cou'd woo them to such Terms.
The angry Shepherd in a Pett,
Gives o'er his wheedling Arts,
And from his Shoulder throws the Net,
Resolv'd he wou'd a Supper get
By Force, if not by Parts.
Thus stated Laws are always best
To rule the vulgar Throng,
Who grow more Stubborn when Carest,
Or with soft Rhetorick addrest,
If taking Measures wrong.
Scheme | ABAAB CDXCD EFEEF GHGXH IJIXJ KXKKX LMLLM XNBBN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (33%) |
Metre | 01010111 110111 11010101 11010111 010111 01011101 010101 11111111 11111111 010111 01011101 111 01110101 1100101101 111111 11011101 11111 1111111 01010111 101101 11010111 010101 11011111 111100101 010101 11011101 110011 11011111 11111111 111111 01010001 110111 01110101 01110101 111111 1101111 110101 1111011 11111 110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,254 |
Words | 240 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 119 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 30 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:15 min read
- 72 Views
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"The Shepherd Piping To The Fishes" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/3309/the-shepherd-piping-to-the-fishes>.
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