Analysis of Love And Folly
Charlotte Smith 1749 (London) – 1806 (Tilford, Surrey)
LOVE, who now deals to human hearts,
Such ill thrown, yet resistless darts,
That hapless mortals can't withstand them,
Was once less cruel and perverse,
Nor did he then his shafts disperse,
So much at random.
It happened, that the thoughtless child
Was rambling thro' a flowery wild,
Like idle lad in school vacation;
Where sauntering now, and now at rest,
Stroll'd Folly, who to Love address'd
His conversation.
On trifles he had much to say,
Then laughing he propos'd to play,
And stake against Love's bow his bauble;
The quiver'd gamester smil'd and won,
But testy Folly soon began
To fret and squabble.
Loud and more loud the quarrel grows;
From words the wranglers went to blows,
For Folly's rage is prompt to rise;
Till bleeding Love a martyr stood
A stroke from Folly's weapon rude,
Put out his eyes.
Then wild with anguish, Venus pray'd,
For vengeance on the idiot's head,
And begg'd of cloud-compelling Jove,
His swiftest lightening, to destroy,
The mischievous malignant boy
That blinded Love.
'Folly is immortal,' Jove replied,
'But, tho' your prayer must be denied,
'An endless penance is decreed him;
'For Love, tho' blind, will reign around
'The world; but still where-ever found,
'Folly shall lead him.'
Scheme | AAXBBX CCDEEDFFGDXG HHIXXIXXJKKJ LLMNNM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111101 111111 110101011 11110001 11111101 11110 11010101 110101001 110101010 1110111 11011101 1010 11011111 11010111 010111110 011101 11010101 11010 10110101 110100111 1111111 11010101 0111101 1111 11110101 1101011 01110101 110100101 01000101 1101 101010101 11111101 110101011 11111101 01111101 10111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,228 |
Words | 209 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 12, 12, 6 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 237 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 51 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 05, 2023
- 1:05 min read
- 165 Views
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"Love And Folly" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/5575/love-and-folly>.
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