Analysis of You charm'd me not with that fair face

John Dryden 1631 (Aldwincle) – 1631 (London)



You charm'd me not with that fair face
     Though it was all divine:
   To be another's is the grace,
     That makes me wish you mine.

The Gods and Fortune take their part
     Who like young monarchs fight;
   And boldly dare invade that heart
     Which is another's right.

First mad with hope we undertake
    To pull up every bar;
  But once possess'd, we faintly make
    A dull defensive war.

Now every friend is turn'd a foe
    In hope to get our store:
  And passion makes us cowards grow,
    Which made us brave before.


Scheme ABAB CDCD EXEF GFGF
Poetic Form Quatrain  (75%)
Metre 11111111 111101 11010101 111111 01010111 11111 01010111 110101 1111110 1111001 11011101 010101 110011101 0111101 01011101 111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 536
Words 94
Sentences 5
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 95
Words per stanza (avg) 23
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

29 sec read
121

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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    From which London landmark did Wordsworth celebrate the view in his poem beginning: "Earth has not any thing to show more fair..."
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