Analysis of My Midnight Meditation

Henry King 1592 (Worminghall, Buckinghamshire) – 1669 (Chichester)



Ill busi'd man! why should'st thou take such care
To lengthen out thy life's short calendar?
When ev'ry spectacle thou lookst upon
Presents and acts thy execution.
Each drooping season and each flower doth cry,
'Fool! as I fade and wither, thou must die.

'The beating of thy pulse (when thou art well)
Is just the tolling of thy Passing Bell:
Night is thy Hearse, whose sable Canopy
Covers alike deceased day and thee.
And all those weeping dews which nightly fall,
Are but the tears shed for thy funeral.'


Scheme XXXXAA BBCCXX
Poetic Form
Metre 11011111111 1101111100 111001101 10011010 11010011011 1111010111 0101111111 1101011101 1111110100 100101101 0111011101 1101111100
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 514
Words 93
Sentences 8
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 6, 6
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 198
Words per stanza (avg) 45
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

28 sec read
95

Henry King

Henry King was an English poet who served as Bishop of Chichester. more…

All Henry King poems | Henry King Books

0 fans

Discuss this Henry King poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "My Midnight Meditation" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17645/my-midnight-meditation>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    22
    hours
    43
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who is the author of the renowned poem collection "Leaves of Grass"?
    A Walt Whitman
    B Langston Hughes
    C Robert Frost
    D Emily Dickinson