Analysis of To Mrs. Barber

Mary Barber 1685 – 1755



See, the bright Sun renews his annual Course,
Each Beam re--tinges, and revives its Force,
By Years uninjur'd; so may'st thou remain,
Not Time from thee, but thou from Time may'st gain:
O might the Fates thy vital Thread prolong,
And make thy Life immortal, as thy Song!

Less Lustre waits the God, when he refines
The rip'ning Metal in Peruvian Mines;
Brightens the Crystal with transparent Day,
Or points the Di'mond with its sparkling Ray;
Than when, delighted, he thy Soul inspires,
Informs thy Judgment, and thy Fancy fires;
Assists thee striking out some bold Design,
And breathes immortal Honours on each Line:
In common as His Rays on all descend,
So You the Great delight, the Poor befriend:
As Heat productive His bright Beams bestow,
So, warm with Life, your pow'rful Numbers flow:
As He from Clouds bursts forth divinely bright,
So Envy sets You in a fairer Light:
Yet, tho' thus far Similitude we see,
One Thing disturbs the wond'rous Harmony;
With faded Light the Winter Sun appears,
Whilst You shine brighter in Decline of Years.


Scheme AABBCC DDEEXXFFGGHHIIJJKK
Poetic Form
Metre 10110111001 111100111 11010111101 11111111111 1101110101 0111010111 1101011101 01110001001 1001010101 110111101 1101011101 01110011010 0111011101 010101111 0101111101 1101010101 1101011101 111111101 1111110101 1101100101 1111111 110101100 1101010101 1111000111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,028
Words 181
Sentences 3
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 6, 18
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 410
Words per stanza (avg) 90
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

56 sec read
68

Mary Barber

Mary Barber, poet, was a member of Swift's circle. more…

All Mary Barber poems | Mary Barber Books

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