Analysis of Roundelay

John Dryden 1631 (Aldwincle) – 1631 (London)



I.
Chloe found Amyntas lying,
All in tears, upon the plain,
Sighing to himself, and crying,
Wretched I, to love in vain!
Kiss me, dear, before my dying;
Kiss me once, and ease my pain.

II.
Sighing to himself, and crying,
Wretched I, to love in vain!
Ever scorning, and denying
To reward your faithful swain.
Kiss me, dear, before my dying;
Kiss me once, and ease my pain.

III.
Ever scorning, and denying
To reward your faithful swain.---
Chloe, laughing at his crying,
Told him, that he loved in vain.
Kiss me, dear, before my dying;
Kiss me once, and ease my pain.

IV.
Chloe, laughing at his crying,
Told him, that he loved in vain;
But, repenting, and complying,
When he kissed, she kissed again:
Kissed him up, before his dying;
Kissed him up, and eased his pain.


Scheme abcBCBC aBCBCBC aBCBCBC xBCbxbc
Poetic Form
Metre 1 101110 1010101 10101010 1011101 11101110 1110111 1 10101010 1011101 1010010 1011101 11101110 1110111 1 1010010 1011101 10101110 1111101 11101110 1110111 1 10101110 1111101 10100010 1111101 11101110 1110111
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 770
Words 143
Sentences 14
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 7, 7, 7, 7
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 20
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 143
Words per stanza (avg) 35
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 06, 2023

42 sec read
68

John Dryden

John Dryden was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was made Poet Laureate in 1668. more…

All John Dryden poems | John Dryden Books

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