Analysis of Merciles Beaute
Geoffrey Chaucer 1343 (London) – 1400 (London)
YOUR eyen two wol slee me sodenly,
I may the beaute of hem not sustene,
So woundeth hit through-out my herte kene.
And but your word wol helen hastily
My hertes wounde, whyl that hit is grene,
Your eyen two wol slee me sodenly,
I may the beaute of hem not sustene.
Upon my trouthe I sey yow feithfully,
That ye ben of my lyf and deeth the quene;
For with my deeth the trouthe shal be sene.
Your eyen two wol slee me sodenly,
I may the beaute of hem not sustene,
So woundeth hit through-out my herte kene.
So hath your beaute fro your herte chaced
Pitee, that me ne availeth not to pleyne;
For Daunger halt your mercy in his cheyne.
Giltles my deeth thus han ye me purchaced;
I sey yow sooth, me nedeth not to feyne;
So hath your beaute fro your herte chaced
Pitee, that me ne availeth not to pleyne.
Allas! that nature hath in yow compassed
So greet beaute, that no man may atteyne
To mercy, though he sterve for the peyne.
So hath your beaute fro your herte chaced
Pitee, that me ne availeth not to pleyne;
For Daunger halt your mercy in his cheyne.
Sin I fro Love escaped am so fat,
I never thenk to ben in his prison lene;
Sin I am free, I counte him not a bene.
He may answere, and seye this or that;
I do no fors, I speke right as I mene.
Sin I fro Love escaped am so fat,
I never thenk to ben in his prison lene.
Love hath my name y-strike out of his sclat,
And he is strike out of my bokes clene
For ever-mo; ther is non other mene.
Sin I fro Love escaped am so fat,
I never thenk to ben in his prison lene;
Sin I am free, I counte him not a bene.
Scheme | ABB abAB abbABB CBB cbCB cbbCBB CBB cbCB cbbCBB |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111111 11011111 11111111 0111110100 11111111 1111111 11011111 01111111 1111110101 111101111 1111111 11011111 11111111 11111111 11111111 111110011 11111111 111111111 11111111 11111111 11101011 11111111 110111101 11111111 11111111 111110011 111101111 11011101101 11111111010 11101111 1111111111 111101111 11011101101 1111111111 011111111 1101111101 111101111 11011101101 11111111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,643 |
Words | 326 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 4, 6, 3, 4, 6, 3, 4, 6 |
Lines Amount | 39 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 132 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:37 min read
- 129 Views
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"Merciles Beaute" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/14626/merciles-beaute>.
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