Analysis of Catharina : The Second Part. On Her Marriage To George Courtenay, Esq.

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



Believe it or not, as you choose,
The doctrine is certainly true,
That the future is known to the Muse,
And poets are oracles too.
I did but express a desire,
To see Catharina at home,
At the side of my friend George's fire,
And lo -- she is actually come.

Such prophecy some may despise,
But the wish of a poet and friend
Perhaps is approved in the skies,
And therefore attains to its end.
'Twas a wish that flew ardently forth
From a bosom effectually warmed
With the talents, the graces, and worth
Of the person for whom it was formed.

Maria would leave us, I knew,
To the grief and regret of us all,
But less to our grief, could we view
Catharina the queen of the hall.
And therefore I wished as I did,
And therefore this union of hands;
Not a whisper was heard to forbid,
But all cry, Amen! to the bans.

Since therefore I seem to incur
No danger of wishing in vain,
When making good wishes for her,
I will e'en to my wishes again;
With one I have made her a wife,
And now I will try with another,
Which I cannot suppress for my life,
How soon I can make her a mother.


Scheme ABABCXCX DEDEXFXF BGBGHXHX CXCXICIC
Poetic Form
Metre 01111111 01011001 101011101 01011001 111010010 11111 1011111010 01111001 11001101 101101001 01101001 0101111 101111001 101011 101001001 101011111 01011111 101001111 111101111 101101 0111111 0111011 101011101 11101101 1111101 11011001 11011010 1111111001 11111001 011111010 111001111 111110010
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,053
Words 215
Sentences 9
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 206
Words per stanza (avg) 53
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:05 min read
47

William Cowper

William Macquarie Cowper was an Australian Anglican archdeacon and Dean of Sydney. more…

All William Cowper poems | William Cowper Books

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