Analysis of Cupid And Ganymede
In Heav'n, one Holy-day, You read
In wise Anacreon, Ganymede
Drew heedless Cupid in, to throw
A Main, to pass an Hour, or so.
The little Trojan, by the way,
By Hermes taught, play'd All the Play.
The God unhappily engag'd,
By Nature rash, by Play enrag'd,
Complain'd, and sigh'd, and cry'd, and fretted;
Lost ev'ry earthly thing He betted:
In ready Mony, all the Store
Pick'd up long since from Danae's Show'r;
A Snush-Box, set with bleeding Hearts,
Rubies, all pierc'd with Diamond Darts;
His Nine-pins, made of Myrtle Wood;
(The Tree in Ida's Forest stood)
His Bowl pure Gold, the very same
Which Paris gave the Cyprian Dame;
Two Table-Books in Shagreen Covers;
Fill'd with good Verse from real Lovers;
Merchandise rare! A Billet-doux,
It's Matter passionate, yet true:
Heaps of Hair Rings, and cypher'd Seals;
Rich Trifles; serious Bagatelles.
What sad Disorders Play begets!
Desp'rate and mad, at length He sets
Those Darts, whose Points make Gods adore
His Might, and deprecate his Pow'r:
Those Darts, whence all our Joy and Pain
Arise: those Darts—come, Seven's the Main,
Cries Ganymede: The usual Trick:
Seven, slur a Six; Eleven: A Nick.
Ill News goes fast: 'Twas quickly known,
That simple Cupid was undone.
Swifter than Lightning Venus flew:
Too late She found the thing too true.
Guess how the Goddess greets her Son:
Come hither, Sirrah; no, begon;
And, hark Ye, is it so indeed?
A Comrade You for Ganymede?
An Imp as wicked, for his Age,
As any earthly Lady's Page;
A Scandal and a Scourge to Troy:
A Prince's Son? A Black-guard Boy:
A Sharper, that with Box and Dice
Draws in young Deities to Vice.
All Heav'n is by the Ears together,
Since first That little Rogue came hither:
Juno her self has had no Peace:
And truly I've been favour'd less:
For Jove, as Fame reports, (but Fame
Says things not fit for Me to name)
Has acted ill for such a God,
And taken Ways extreamly odd.
And Thou, unhappy Child, She said
(Her Anger by her Grief allay'd)
Unhappy Child, who thus hast lost
All the Estate We e'er could boast;
Whither, O whither wilt Thou run,
Thy Name despis'd, thy Weakness known?
Nor shall thy Shrine on Earth be crown'd:
Nor shall thy Pow'r in Heav'n be own'd;
When Thou, nor Man, nor God can'st wound.
Obedient Cupid kneeling cry'd,
Cease, dearest Mother, cease to chide:
Gany's a Cheat, and I'm a Bubble:
Yet why this great Excess of Trouble?
The Dice were false: the Darts are gone:
Yet how are You, or I undone?
The Loss of These I can supply
With keener Shafts from Cloe's Eye:
Fear not, We e'er can be disgrac'd,
While That bright Magazine shall last:
Your crowded Altars still shall smoke;
And Man your Friendly Aid invoke:
Jove shall again revere your Pow'r,
And rise a Swan, or fall a Show'r.
Scheme | ABCCDD EEXAFGHHIIJJKKHLXH MMFGNNOO PQLLQNBBRRSSTTUUXXJJVV AXXXQPWXW AXXXXQ YYXXZZGG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01110111 01110 1110011 011111011 01010101 11011101 01010001 11011101 010101010 1110111 01010101 11111111 01111101 10111101 11111101 0101101 11110101 110101001 11010110 11111110 1010101 11010011 1111011 1101001 11010101 1011111 11111101 11010111 111110101 011111001 11001001 1010101001 11111101 11010101 10110101 11110111 11010101 110111 01111101 011110 11110111 11010101 01000111 01010111 01011101 10110011 111101010 111101110 10011111 0101111 11110111 11111111 11011101 010111 01010111 01010101 01011111 100111011 10110111 11011101 11111111 111110111 111111111 010010101 11010111 10101010 11111110 01010111 11111101 01111101 1101111 111101101 1111011 11010111 01110101 110101111 010111011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,660 |
Words | 488 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 18, 8, 22, 9, 6, 8 |
Lines Amount | 77 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 295 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 69 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:38 min read
- 122 Views
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"Cupid And Ganymede" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/27349/cupid-and-ganymede>.
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