Analysis of Ad Lesbiam, Cat. Ep. 73
Richard Lovelace 1618 – 1657
AD LESBIAM, CAT. EP. 73.
Dicebas quondam, solum to nosse Catullum,
Lesbia, nec prae me velle tenere Jovem;
Dilexi tum te, non tantum ut vulgus amicam,
Sed pater ut gnatos diligit et generos.
Nunc te cognovi, quare et impensius uror,
Multo mi tamen es vilior et levior.
Qui potis est inquis, quod amantem injuria talis
Cogat amare magis, sed bene velle minus?
Odi et amo; quare id faciam, fortasse requiris;
Nescio; sed fieri sentio, et excrucior.
That me alone you lov'd, you once did say,
Nor should I to the king of gods give way.
Then I lov'd thee not as a common dear,
But as a father doth his children chear.
Now thee I know, more bitterly I smart;
Yet thou to me more light and cheaper art.
What pow'r is this? that such a wrong should press
Me to love more, yet wish thee well much lesse.
I hate and love; would'st thou the reason know?
I know not; but I burn, and feel it so.
Scheme | X AAABCCBBBC BXCCDDBBXB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111 1110111 1111111 11111111 11011111 1111111 1111111 110111111 111110110 111011111 111111 1101111111 1111011111 1111110101 1101011101 1111110011 1111110101 11111110111 1111111111 11011110101 1111110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 910 |
Words | 171 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 10, 10 |
Lines Amount | 21 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 224 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 56 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 52 sec read
- 146 Views
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"Ad Lesbiam, Cat. Ep. 73" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/30128/ad-lesbiam%2C-cat.-ep.-73>.
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