Analysis of When Winchester races
Jane Austen 1775 (Steventon Rectory, Hampshire) – 1817 (Winchester, Hampshire)
When Winchester races first took their beginning
It is said the good people forgot their old Saint
Not applying at all for the leave of Saint Swithin
And that William of Wykeham's approval was faint.
The races however were fixed and determined
The company came and the Weather was charming
The Lords and the Ladies were satine'd and ermined
And nobody saw any future alarming.--
But when the old Saint was informed of these doings
He made but one Spring from his Shrine to the Roof
Of the Palace which now lies so sadly in ruins
And then he addressed them all standing aloof.
'Oh! subjects rebellious! Oh Venta depraved
When once we are buried you think we are gone
But behold me immortal! By vice you're enslaved
You have sinned and must suffer, ten farther he said
These races and revels and dissolute measures
With which you're debasing a neighboring Plain
Let them stand--You shall meet with your curse in your pleasures
Set off for your course, I'll pursue with my rain.
Ye cannot but know my command o'er July
Henceforward I'll triumph in shewing my powers
Shift your race as you will it shall never be dry
The curse upon Venta is July in showers--'.
Scheme | ABCB XABA XDXD ECEX FCFC GFGF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (83%) |
Metre | 11010111010 111011001111 101011101111 01101101011 01010010010 010010010110 0100100101 0111010010 110111011110 11111111101 1010111110010 01101111001 1100101101 11111011111 101101011101 111011011011 1100100110 11101001001 1111111110110 11111101111 11011101101 111001110 111111111011 0101111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,146 |
Words | 210 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 39 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 154 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:05 min read
- 67 Views
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"When Winchester races" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/21213/when-winchester-races>.
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