Analysis of Ode to Reflection
Mary Darby Robinson 1757 (England) – 1800 (England)
O THOU, whose sober precepts can controul
The wild impatience of the troubled soul,
Sweet Nymph serene ! whose all-consoling pow'r
Awakes to calm delight the ling'ring hour;
O hear thy suppliant's ardent pray'r !
Chase from my pensive mind corroding care,
Steal thro' the heated pulses of the brain,
Charm sorrow to reposeand lull the throb of pain.
O, tell me, what are life's best joys?
Are they not visions that decay,
Sweet honey'd poisons, gilded toys,
Vain glitt'ring baubles of a day?
O say what shadow do they leave behind,
Save the sad vacuum of the sated mind?
Borne on the eagle wings of Fame,
MAN soars above calm Reason's sway,
"Vaulting AMBITION" mocks each tender claim,
Plucks the dear bonds of social life away;
As o'er the vanquish'd slave she wields her spear,
COMPASSION turns aside---REFLECTlON drops a tear.
Behold the wretch, whose sordid heart,
Steep'd in Content's oblivious balm,
Secure in Luxury's bewitching calm,
Repels pale Mis'ry's touch, and mocks Affliction's smart;
Unmov'd he marks the bitter tear,
In vain the plaints of woe his thoughts assail,
The bashful mourner's pitious tale
Nor melts his flinty soul, nor vibrates on his ear,
O blest REFLECTION ! let thy magic pow'r
Awake his torpid sense, his slumb'ring thought,
Tel1 him ADVERSITY'S unpitied hour
A brighter lesson gives, than Stoics taught:
Tell him that WEALTH no blessing can impart
So sweet as PITY'S tearthat bathes the wounded Heart.
Go tell the vain, the insolent, and fair,
That life's best days are only days of care;
That BEAUTY, flutt'ring like a painted fly,
Owes to the spring of youth its rarest die;
When Winter comes, its charms shall fade away,
And the poor insect wither in decay:
Go bid the giddy phantom learn from thee,
That VIRTUE only braves mortality.
Then come, REFLECTION, soft-ey'd maid!
I know thee, and I prize thy charms;
Come, in thy gentlest smiles array'd,
And I will press thee in my eager arms:
Keep from my aching heart the "fiend DESPAIR,"
Pluck from my brow her THORN, and plant the OLIVE there.
Scheme | AABCBDEE FGFGHH IGIGXD JKKJDAAX BLCLJJ DDAXGGMM NONODD |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110111 0101010101 11011101011 1110101110 11111011 11110111 1101010101 110101010111 11111111 11110101 1110101 1110101 111111101 1011010101 11010111 1101111 1001011101 1011110101 11001011101 0101011101 01011101 10101001 010111 011110111 01110101 0101111101 010111 111101110111 11010111011 011101111 111110 0101011101 1111110101 11111110101 1101010001 1111110111 110110101 1101111101 1101111101 001110001 1101010111 1101010100 11010111 11101111 101100101 0111101101 1111010101 111101010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,041 |
Words | 348 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6, 6, 8, 6, 8, 6 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 226 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 50 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:52 min read
- 66 Views
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"Ode to Reflection" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/26754/ode-to-reflection>.
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