Analysis of On A Good Legg And Foot
William Strode 1602 – 1645
If Hercules tall stature might bee guest
But by his thumbe, wherby to make the rest
In due proportion; the best rule that I
Would choose to measure Venus' beauty by
Should bee her legg and foot. If husbandmen
Measure theyr timber by the foot, why then
Not we our wives? Whether wee goe or stride
Those native compasses are seldome wide
Of telling true: the round and slender foot
Is a sure index, and a secrett note
Of hidden parts; and well this way may lead
Unto the closett of a maydenheade:
Here, Emblemes of our youth, we roses tye,
And here the garter, love's deare mystery:
For want of beauty here the peacock's pride
Letts fall her trayne, and fearing to bee spide
Shutts upp her paynted witnesses to lett
Those eyes from view which are but counterfett.
Who looks not if this part be good or evill
May meet with cloven feet and match the divell,
For this doth make the difference betweene
The more unhallowed creatures and the cleane,
Well may you judge her other stepps are lighte,
Her thoughts awry that doth not tread aright:
But then there's true perfection when wee see
Those parts more absolute that hidden bee:
Nature nere layd a fayre foundation
For an unworthy frame to rest upon.
Lett others view the topp and limbes throughout,
The deeper knowledge is to know the roote:
And reading of the face the weakest know,
What beauty is; the learned looke below;
Who, looking there, doe all the rest, descrie
As in a poole the moon we use to spie:
Pardon (sweetehart) the pride of my desire
If but to kisse your toe it should aspire.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEFGABHDAIAJJCCAAHHCCKACJHHLM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110110111 111111101 0101001111 1111010101 11010111 1011010111 11101101111 1101111 1101010101 101100011 1101011111 1001101 1111011101 0101011100 111101011 1101010111 110110011 11111111 1111111111 111110101 111101001 01110001 1111010111 010111111 1111010111 111101101 101101010 1101011101 1101010101 0101011101 0101010101 110101101 110111011 1001011111 1010111010 1111111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,518 |
Words | 285 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 36 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,223 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 283 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:26 min read
- 84 Views
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"On A Good Legg And Foot" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41670/on-a-good-legg-and-foot>.
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