Analysis of Beauty
Abraham Cowley 1618 (London) – 1667 (London)
LIBERAL Nature did dispence
To all things Arms for their defence;
And some she arms with sin'ewy force,
And some with swiftness in the course;
Some with hard Hoofs, or forked claws,
And some with Horns, or tusked jaws.
And some with Scales, and some with Wings,
And some with Teeth, and some with Stings.
Wisdom to Man she did afford,
Wisdom for Shield, and Wit for Sword.
What to beauteous Woman-kind,
What Arms, what Armour has she'assigne'd?
Beauty is both; for with the Faire
What Arms, what Armour can compare?
What Steel, what Gold, or Diamond,
More Impassible is found?
And yet what Flame, what Lightning ere
So great an Active force did bear?
They are all weapon, and they dart
Like Porcupines from every part.
Who can, alas, their strength express,
Arm'd when they themselves undress,
Cap a pe* with Nakedness?
Scheme | AAAAAAAABBCBDDEFDDGGAAA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1001011 11111101 011111101 01110001 1111111 0111111 01110111 01110111 10111101 10110111 111101 1111011 10111101 11110101 1111110 1111 01111101 11110111 11110011 11011001 11011101 1110101 10111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 805 |
Words | 145 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 23 |
Lines Amount | 23 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 638 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 143 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 44 sec read
- 129 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Beauty" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/7/beauty>.
Discuss this Abraham Cowley poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In