Oft Have I Read That Innocence Retreats
Thomas Parnell 1679 (Dublin) – 1718
Oft have I read that Innocence retreats
Where cooling streams salute ye summer Seats
Singing at ease she roves ye field of flowrs
Or safe with shepheards lys among the bowrs
But late alas I crossd a country fare
And found No Strephon nor Dorinda there
There Hodge & William Joynd to cully ned
While Ned was drinking Hodge & William dead
There Cicely Jeard by day the slips of Nell
& ere ye night was ended Cicely fell
Are these the Virtues which adorn the plain
Ye bards forsake your old Arcadian Vein
To sheep those tender Innocents resign
The place where swains & nymphs are said to shine
Swains twice as Wicked Nymphs but half as sage
Tis sheep alone retrieve ye golden age.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 27, 2023
- 38 sec read
- 161 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AAAABBCCDDEEFFGG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 671 |
Words | 128 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 16 |
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"Oft Have I Read That Innocence Retreats" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/37030/oft-have-i-read-that-innocence-retreats>.
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