Analysis of Modern Love XII: Not Solely That the Future
George Meredith 1828 (Portsmouth, Hampshire) – 1909 (Box Hill, Surrey)
Not solely that the Future she destroys,
And the fair life which in the distance lies
For all men, beckoning out from dim rich skies:
Nor that the passing hour's supporting joys
Have lost the keen-edged flavour, which begat
Distinction in old times, and still should breed
Sweet Memory, and Hope,--earth's modest seed,
And heaven's high-prompting: not that the world is flat
Since that soft-luring creature I embraced,
Among the children of Illusion went:
Methinks with all this loss I were content,
If the mad Past, on which my foot is based,
Were firm, or might be blotted: but the whole
Of life is mixed: the mocking Past will stay:
And if I drink oblivion of a day,
So shorten I the stature of my soul.
Scheme | ABBACDDCEFFEGHHG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11001010101 0011100101 11110011111 11010100101 110111101 0100110111 1100011101 010110110111 1111010101 0101010101 111111010 1011111111 0111110101 1111010111 01110100101 1101010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 714 |
Words | 129 |
Sentences | 2 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 16 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 553 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 126 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 39 sec read
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"Modern Love XII: Not Solely That the Future" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15515/modern-love-xii%3A-not-solely-that-the-future>.
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