Analysis of Elegy
James Beattie 1735 (Laurencekirk) – 1803 (Aberdeen)
Tired with the busy crowds, that all the day
Impatient throng where Folly's altars flame,
My languid powers dissolve with quick decay,
Till genial Sleep repair the sinking frame.
Hail, kind reviver! that canst lull the cares,
And every weary sense compose to rest,
Lighten the oppressive load which anguish bears,
And warm with hope the cold desponding breast.
Touch'd by thy rod, from Power's majestic brow
Drops the gay plume; he pines a lowly clown;
And on the cold earth stretch'd, the son of Woe
Quaffs Pleasure's draught, and wears a fancied crown.
When roused by thee, on boundless pinions borne,
Fancy to fairy scenes exults to rove,
Now scales the cliff gay-gleaming on the morn,
Now sad and silent treads the deepening grove;
Or skims the main, and listens to the storms,
Marks the long waves roll far remote away;
Or, mingling with ten thousand glittering forms,
Floats on the gale, and basks in purest day.
Haply, ere long, pierced by the howling blast,
Through dark and pathless deserts I shall roam,
Plunge down the unfathom'd deep, or shrink aghast
Where bursts the shrieking spectre from the tomb:
Perhaps loose Luxury's enchanting smile
Shall lure my steps to some romantic dale,
Where Mirth's light freaks the unheeded hours beguile,
And airs of rapture warble in the gale.
Instructive emblem of this mortal state!
Where scenes as various every hour arise
In swift succession, which the hand of Fate
Presents, then snatches from our wondering eyes.
Be taught, vain man, how fleeting all thy joys,
Thy boasted grandeur and thy glittering store:
Death comes, and all thy fancied bliss destroys;
Quick as a dream it fades, and is no more.
And, sons of Sorrow! though the threatening storm
Of angry Fortune overhang awhile,
Let not her frowns your inward peace deform;
Soon happier days in happier climes shall smile.
Through Earth's throng'd visions while we toss forlorn,
'Tis tumult all, and rage, and restless strife;
But these shall vanish like the dreams of morn,
When Death awakes us to immortal life.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD XEXE FGFG HAHA IXIX JKJK LMLM NONO PJPJ FQFQ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (91%) |
Metre | 10101011101 010111101 11010011101 1101010101 11111101 01001010111 10001011101 01110111 11111100101 1011110101 0101110111 111010101 111111011 1011010111 1101110101 11010101001 1101010101 1011110101 110011101001 1101010101 111110101 110110111 110111101 1101010101 01110101 1111110101 111100101001 0111010001 0101011101 1111001001001 0101010111 101101101001 1111110111 11001011001 1101110101 1101110111 01110101001 110101001 110111011 110010100111 1111011101 1101010101 1111010111 111110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,999 |
Words | 354 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 44 |
Letters per line (avg) | 37 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 146 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 31 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 23, 2023
- 1:49 min read
- 34 Views
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"Elegy" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/19954/elegy>.
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