Analysis of My Sweetest Lesbia



My sweetest Lesbia, let us live and love,
And though the sager sort our deeds reprove,
Let us not weigh them. Heaven's great lamps do dive
Into their west, and straight again revive,
But soon as once set is our little light,
Then must we sleep one ever-during night.

If all would lead their lives in love like me,
Then bloody swords and armor should not be;
No drum nor trumpet peaceful sleeps should move,
Unless alarm came from the camp of love.
But fools do live, and waste their little light,
And seek with pain their ever-during night.

When timely death my life and fortune ends,
Let not my hearse be vexed with mourning friends,
But let all lovers, rich in triumph, come
And with sweet pastimes grace my happy tomb;
And Lesbia, close up thou my little light,
And crown with love my ever-during night.


Scheme AABBCC DDXACC EEXXCC
Poetic Form
Metre 110111101 0101011011 11111101111 0111010101 11111110101 1111110101 1111110111 1101010111 1111010111 0101110111 1111011101 0111110101 1101110101 1111111101 1111010101 011111101 011111101 0111110101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 797
Words 149
Sentences 6
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 18
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 211
Words per stanza (avg) 49
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 22, 2023

45 sec read
141

Thomas Campion

Thomas Campion sometimes Campian was an English composer poet and physician Campion was first published as a poet in 1591 with five of his works appearing in an edition of Sir Philip Sidneys Astrophel and Stella more…

All Thomas Campion poems | Thomas Campion Books

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