Analysis of When Stretch'd on One's Bed
Jane Austen 1775 (Steventon Rectory, Hampshire) – 1817 (Winchester, Hampshire)
When stretch'd on one's bed
With a fierce-throbbing head,
Which preculdes alike thought or repose,
How little one cares
For the grandest affairs
That may busy the world as it goes!
How little one feels
For the waltzes and reels
Of our Dance-loving friends at a Ball!
How slight one's concern
To conjecture or learn
What their flounces or hearts may befall.
How little one minds
If a company dines
On the best that the Season affords!
How short is one's muse
O'er the Sauces and Stews,
Or the Guests, be they Beggars or Lords.
How little the Bells,
Ring they Peels, toll they Knells,
Can attract our attention or Ears!
The Bride may be married,
The Corse may be carried
And touch nor our hopes nor our fears.
Our own bodily pains
Ev'ry faculty chains;
We can feel on no subject besides.
Tis in health and in ease
We the power must seize
For our friends and our souls to provide.
Scheme | AABCCB DDEFFE XXGHHG XBIJJI KKXLLX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (27%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11111 101101 11011101 11011 101001 111001111 11011 101001 1101101101 11101 101011 111011101 11011 101001 101101001 11111 1001001 101111011 11001 111111 1011001011 011110 011110 0111011101 1011001 11001 111110101 101001 101011 11010101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 881 |
Words | 164 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 138 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 32 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 51 sec read
- 105 Views
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