Analysis of Ode XV: On Domestic Manners (Unfinished)
Mark Akenside 1721 (Newcastle upon Tyne) – 1770
I.
Meek honor, female shame,
O! whither, sweetest offspring of the sky,
From Albion dost thou fly;
Of Albion's daughters once the favorite fame?
O beauty's only friend,
Who giv'st her pleasing reverence to inspire;
Who selfish, bold desire
Dost to esteem and dear affection turn;
Alas, of thee forlorn
What joy, what praise, what hope can life pretend?
II.
Behold; our youths in vain
Concerning nuptial happiness inquire:
Our maids no more aspire
The arts of bashful Hymen to attain;
But with triumphant eyes
And cheeks impassive, as they move along,
Ask homage of the throng.
The lover swears that in a harlot's arms
Are found the self-same charms,
And worthless and deserted lives and dies.
III.
Behold; unbless'd at home,
The father of the cheerless household mourns:
The night in vain returns,
For love and glad content at distance roam;
While she, in whom his mind
Seeks refuge from the day's dull task of cares,
To meet him she prepares,
Through noise and spleen and all the gamester's art,
A listless, harrass'd heart,
Where not one tender thought can welcome find.
IV.
'Twas thus, along the shore
Of Thames, Britannia's guardian Genius heard,
From many a tongue preferr'd,
Of strife and grief the fond invective lore:
At which the queen divine
Indignant, with her adamantine spear
Like thunder sounding near,
Smote the red cross upon her silver shield,
And thus her wrath reveal'd.
(I watch'd her awful words and made them mine.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Scheme | ABAABCDXXXC AEDDEFGGHHF AIXXIJKKLLJ XMNNMOPPQQO |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1 11011 110101101 1100111 1110101001 11101 11010100101 1101010 1101010101 011101 1111111101 1 0110101 0101010001 1011101 0111010101 110101 0101011101 110101 010110011 110111 0100010101 1 01111 01010111 010101 1101101101 110111 1101011111 111101 110101011 01011 1111011101 1 110101 111100101 1100101 1101010101 110101 0101011 110101 1011010101 010101 1101010111 1 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,439 |
Words | 266 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 11, 11, 11, 12 |
Lines Amount | 45 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 282 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 66 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:23 min read
- 23 Views
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