Analysis of A Lecture Upon The Shadow
John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)
Stand still, and I will read to thee
A lecture, love, in love's philosophy.
These three hours that we have spent,
Walking here, two shadows went
Along with us, which we ourselves produc'd.
But, now the sun is just above our head,
We do those shadows tread,
And to brave clearness all things are reduc'd.
So whilst our infant loves did grow,
Disguises did, and shadows, flow
From us, and our cares; but now 'tis not so.
That love has not attain'd the high'st degree,
Which is still diligent lest others see.
Except our loves at this noon stay,
We shall new shadows make the other way.
As the first were made to blind
Others, these which come behind
Will work upon ourselves, and blind our eyes.
If our loves faint, and westwardly decline,
To me thou, falsely, thine,
And I to thee mine actions shall disguise.
The morning shadows wear away,
But these grow longer all the day;
But oh, love's day is short, if love decay.
Love is a growing, or full constant light,
And his first minute, after noon, is night.
Scheme | AABBCDDCEEEAA FFGGHIIHFFFJJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011111 0101010100 11101111 101111 01111100101 11011101101 11111 011111101 111010111 0101011 11010111111 11110101101 1111001101 011011111 111110101 1010111 1011101 110100101101 110110101 111101 0111110101 0101101 11110101 1111111101 1101011101 0111010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,020 |
Words | 186 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 13, 13 |
Lines Amount | 26 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 387 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 92 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 264 Views
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