Analysis of A Riddle: On A Kiss

William Strode 1602 – 1645



What thing is that, nor felt nor seene
Till it bee given? a present for a Queene:
A fine conceite to give and take the like:
The giver yet is farther for to seeke;
The taker doth possesse nothing the more,
The giver hee hath nothing lesse in store:
And given once that nature hath it still,
You cannot keepe or leave it if you will:
The workmanshippe is counted very small,
The labour is esteemed naught at all:
But to conclude, this gift is such indeede,
That, if some see't 'twill make theyr hearts to bleede


Scheme AABBCCDDEEFF
Poetic Form
Metre 11111111 11110010101 011110101 0101110111 010111001 0101110101 0101110111 1101111111 01110101 01101111 110111111 11111111111
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 507
Words 99
Sentences 2
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 398
Words per stanza (avg) 97
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

30 sec read
75

William Strode

William Strode (c. 1602 – 1645) was an English poet, Doctor of Divinity and Public Orator of Oxford University, one of the Worthies of Devon of John Prince (d.1723). more…

All William Strode poems | William Strode Books

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