Analysis of Thoughts Suggested By A College Examination
George Gordon Lord Byron 1788 (London) – 1824 (Missolonghi, Aetolia)
High in the midst, surrounded by his peers,
MAGNUS his ample front sublime up rears:
Placed on his chair of state, he seems a god.
While Sophs and Freshmen tremble at his nod.
As all around sit wrapt in speechless gloom,
His voice in thunder shakes the sounding dome;
Denouncing dire reproach to luckless fools,
Unskill'd to plod in mathematic rules.
Happy the youth in Euclid's axiorn tried,
Though littie versed in any art beside;
Who, scarcely skill'd an English line tc pen,
Scans Attic metres with a critic's ken.
What, though he knows not how his fathers bled,
When civil discord piled the fields with dead,
When Edward bade his conquering bands advance
Or Henry trampled on the crest of France.
Though marvelling at the name of Magna Charta,
Yet well he recollects the laws of Sparta;
Can tell what edicts sage Lycurgus made,
While Blackstone's on the shelf neglected laid;
Of Grecian dramas vaunts the deathless fame,
Of Avon's bard remembering scarce the name.
Such is the youth whose scientific pate
Class-honours, medals, fellowships, await
Or even, perhaps, the declamation prize
If to such glorious height he lifts his eyes.
But lo! no common orator can hope
The envied silver cup within his scope.
Not that our heads much eloquence require,
Th' ATHENIAN'S glowing style, or Tully's fire.
A manner clear or warm is useless, since
We do not try by speaking to convince.
Be other orators of pleasing proud,--
We speak to please ourselves, not move the crowd:
Our gravity prefers the muttering tone,
A proper mixture of the squeak and groan:
No borrow'd grace of action must he seen;
The slightest motion would displease the Dean;
Whilst everv staring graduate would prate
Against what he could never imitate.
The man who hopes t' obtain the promised cup
Must in one posture stand, and ne'er look up;
Nor stop, but rattle over every word --
No matter what, so it can not be heard.
Thus let him hurry on, nor think to rest:
Who speaks the fastest's sure to speak the best;
Who utters most within the shortest space
May safely hope to win the wordy race.
The sons of science these, who, thus repaid,
Linger in ease in Granta's sluggish shade;
Where on Cam's sedgy banks supine they lie,
Unknown, unhonour'd live, unwept-for die:
Dull as the pictures which adorn their halls,
They think all learning fix'd within their walls:
In manners rude, in foolish forms precise,
All modern arts affecting to despise;
Yet prizing Bentley's, Brunck's, or Porson's note,
More than the verse on which the critic wrote:
Vain as their honours, heavy as their ale,
Sad as their wit, and tedious as their tale;
To friendship dead, though not untaught to feel
When Self and Church demand a bigot zeal.
With eager haste they court the lord of power,
Whether 'tis Pitt or Petty rules the hour;
To him, with suppliant smiles, they bend the head,
While distant mitres to their eyes are spread.
But should a storm o'erwhelm him with disgrace,
They'd fly to seek the next who fill'd his place.
Such are the men who learning's treasures guard!
Such is their practice, such is their reward!
This much, at least, we may presume to say --
The premium can't exceed the price they pay.
Scheme | AABBXXCC DDEEFFGGBXHHII JJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQBJ RRSSTTUU HHVVWWXKXXYYZZMMFFUUXX1 1 |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1001010111 1011010111 1111111101 1101010111 1101110101 1101010101 0101011101 011100101 10010111 111010101 1101110111 1101010101 1111111101 1101010111 11011100101 1101010111 111011101 1110101110 1111010101 111010101 110101011 11010100101 110110101 11101001 11001011 11110011111 1111010011 0101010111 11101110010 1111011110 0101111101 1111110101 1101001101 11110011101 101000101001 0101010101 111110111 0101010101 111010011 011111010 01111010101 1011010111 11110101001 1101111111 1111011111 110111101 1101010101 1101110101 0111011101 100101101 111110111 0111111 1101010111 1111010111 0101010101 1101010101 11101111 1101110101 111110111 11110100111 110111111 1101010101 11011101110 10111101010 111111101 110111111 110111101 1111011111 110111101 1111011101 1111110111 01001010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 3,112 |
Words | 555 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 14, 18, 8, 24 |
Lines Amount | 72 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 497 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 110 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:53 min read
- 109 Views
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"Thoughts Suggested By A College Examination" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15252/thoughts-suggested-by-a-college-examination>.
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