Analysis of When, Dearest, I But Think of Thee
Sir John Suckling 1609 – 1642
When, dearest I but think of thee,
Methinks all things that lovely be
Are present, and my soul delighted:
For beauties that from worth arise
Are like the grace of deities,
Still present with us, tho’ unsighted.
Thus while I sit and sigh the day
With all his borrow’d lights away,
Till night’s black wings do overtake me,
Thinking on thee, thy beauties then,
As sudden lights do sleepy men,
So they by their bright rays awake me.
Thus absence dies, and dying proves
No absence can subsist with loves
That do partake of fair perfection:
Since in the darkest night they may
By love’s quick motion find a way
To see each other by reflection.
The waving sea can with each flood
Bathe some high promont that hath stood
Far from the main up in the river:
O think not then but love can do
As much! for that’s an ocean too,
Which flows not every day, but ever!
Scheme | AABXXB CCADDA XXECCE BXFGGF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011111 1111101 110011010 11011101 11011100 1101111 11110101 1111101 11111101 10111101 11011101 111111011 11010101 11010111 110111010 10010111 11110101 111101010 01011111 1111111 110110010 11111111 11111101 1111001110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 846 |
Words | 162 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 167 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 40 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 48 sec read
- 67 Views
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"When, Dearest, I But Think of Thee" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/35228/when%2C-dearest%2C-i-but-think-of-thee>.
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