Analysis of Nonpareil



Let others from the Town retire,
And in the fields seek new delight;
My Phillis does such joys inspire,
No other objects please my sight.

In her alone I find whate'er
Beauties a country landscape grace;
No shade so lovely as her hair,
Nor plain so sweet as is her face.

Lilies and roses there combine,
More beauteous than in flowery field;
Transparent is her skin so fine,
To this each crystal stream must yield.

Her voice more sweet than warbling sound,
Though sung by nightingale or lark;
Her eyes such lustre dart around,
Compared to them the sun is dark.

Both light and vital heat they give,
Cherish'd by them my love takes root;
From her kind looks does life receive,
Grows a fair plant, bears flowers and fruit.

Such fruit I ween did once deceive
The common parent of mankind,
And made transgress our mother Eve,
Poison its core, though fair its rind.

Yet so delicious is its taste,
I cannot from the bait abstain,
But to th' enchanting pleasure haste,
Though I were sure 'twould end in pain.


Scheme ABAB XCXC DEDE FGFG XHIH IJIJ KLKL
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 11010101 00011101 11011101 11010111 00011110 1001011 11110101 11111101 10010110 11101001 01010111 11110111 011111001 11110011 01110101 01110111 11010111 10111111 10111101 101111001 11111101 01010111 010110101 10111111 11010111 11010101 1111010101 11011101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 980
Words 183
Sentences 8
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 112
Words per stanza (avg) 26
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

55 sec read
77

Matthew Prior

Matthew Prior was an English poet and diplomat. more…

All Matthew Prior poems | Matthew Prior Books

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