Analysis of The Prohibition
John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)
Take heed of loving me,
At least remember, I forbade it thee;
Not that I shall repair my unthrifty waste
Of breath and blood, upon thy sighs, and tears,
By being to thee then what to me thou wast;
But, so great joy, our life at once outwears,
Then, lest thy love, by my death, frustrate be,
If thou love me, take heed of loving me.
Take heed of hating me,
Or too much triumph in the victory.
Not that I shall be mine own officer,
And hate with hate again retaliate;
But thou wilt lose the style of conqueror,
If I, thy conquest, perish by thy hate.
Then, lest my being nothing lessen thee,
If thou hate me, take heed of hating me.
Yet, love and hate me too,
So, these extremes shall neither`s office do;
Love me, that I may die the gentler way;
Hate me, because thy love`s too great for me;
Or let these two, themselves, not me decay;
So shall I live thy stage, not triumph be;
Lest thou thy love and hate and me undo,
To let me live, Oh love and hate me too.
Scheme | AABCBCAA AADEDEAA FFGAGAFF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111101 1101010111 111101111 1101011101 11011111111 1111101111 111111111 1111111101 111101 1111000100 1111111100 011101010 1111011100 1111010111 1111010101 1111111101 110111 110111101 1111110101 1101111111 1111011101 1111111101 1111010101 1111110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 946 |
Words | 193 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 242 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 64 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 206 Views
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"The Prohibition" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22605/the-prohibition>.
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