Analysis of The Relic
John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)
When my grave is broke up again
Some second guest to entertain,
(For graves have learn'd that woman head,
To be to more than one a bed)
And he that digs it, spies
A bracelet of bright hair about the bone,
Will he not let'us alone,
And think that there a loving couple lies,
Who thought that this device might be some way
To make their souls, at the last busy day,
Meet at this grave, and make a little stay?
If this fall in a time, or land,
Where mis-devotion doth command,
Then he, that digs us up, will bring
Us to the bishop, and the king,
To make us relics; then
Thou shalt be a Mary Magdalen, and I
A something else thereby;
All women shall adore us, and some men;
And since at such time miracles are sought,
I would have that age by this paper taught
What miracles we harmless lovers wrought.
First, we lov'd well and faithfully,
Yet knew not what we lov'd, nor why;
Difference of sex no more we knew
Than our guardian angels do;
Coming and going, we
Perchance might kiss, but not between those meals;
Our hands ne'er touch'd the seals
Which nature, injur'd by late law, sets free;
These miracles we did, but now alas,
All measure, and all language, I should pass,
Should I tell what a miracle she was.
Scheme | AXBBCDDCEEE FFGGAHHAIII JHKKJLLJMMX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111101 1101101 11111101 11111101 011111 0101110101 1111101 0111010101 1111011111 1111101101 1111010101 11100111 11010101 11111111 11010001 111101 11101010001 010111 1101011011 0111110011 1111111101 1100110101 11110100 11111111 100111111 110100101 100101 0111110111 1011101 1101011111 1100111101 1100110111 1111010011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,276 |
Words | 233 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 11, 11, 11 |
Lines Amount | 33 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 309 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 77 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 11, 2023
- 1:12 min read
- 103 Views
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"The Relic" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22606/the-relic>.
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