Analysis of On A Dissembler
William Strode 1602 – 1645
Could any shewe where Plynyes people dwell
Whose head stands in their breast; who cannot tell
A smoothing lye because their open hart
And lippes are joyn'd so neare, I would depart
As quick as thought, and there forgett the wrongs
Which I have suffer'd by deceitfull tongues.
I should depart where soules departed bee,
Who being freed from cloudy flesh, can see
Each other so immediately, so cleare
That none needs tongue to speak, nor ears to hear.
Were tongues intended to express the soule,
And can wee better doe't with none at all?
Were words first made our meaning to reveale,
And are they usde our meaning to conceale?
The ayre by which wee see, will that turne fogg?
Our breath turne mist? Will that become a clogg
That should unload the mynde? Fall we upon
Another Babell's sub-confusion?
And in the self-same language must wee finde
A diverse faction of the words and minde?
Dull as I am, that hugg'd such emptie ayre,
And never mark't the deede (a phrase more faire,
More trusty and univocall): joyne well
Three or foure actions, we may quickly spell
A hollow hart: if those no light can lend
Read the whole sentence, and observe the end:
I will not wayte so long: the guilded man
On whom I ground my speech, no longer can
Delude my sense; nor can the gracefull arte
Of kind dissembling button upp his hart.
His well-spoke wrongs are such as hurtfull words
Writt in a comely hand; or bloody swords
Sheath'd upp in velvett; if hee draw on mee
My armour proofe is incredulity.
Scheme | AABBCDEEFFGHAAIIJKBBFFAALLMMBBNOEE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110111101 1110111101 0101011101 0111111101 111101101 11110111 1101110101 1101110111 11010100011 1111111111 0101010101 01110111111 0111101011 0111101011 0111111111 10111110101 1101011101 01011010 0001110111 0011010101 111111111 01011010111 1100111 1111011101 0101111111 1011000101 111111011 1111111101 011111011 1101010111 111111111 1001011101 110111111 110110100 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,460 |
Words | 271 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 34 |
Lines Amount | 34 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,171 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 269 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 20, 2023
- 1:23 min read
- 57 Views
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"On A Dissembler" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41664/on-a-dissembler>.
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