Analysis of To A Gentleman And Lady On The Death Of The Lady's Brother And Sister, And A Child Of The Name Of Avis, Aged One Year
Phillis Wheatley 1753 (West Africa) – 1784 (Boston)
ON Death's domain intent I fix my eyes,
Where human nature in vast ruin lies:
With pensive mind I search the drear abode,
Where the great conqu'ror has his spoils bestow'd;
There there the offspring of six thousand years
In endless numbers to my view appears:
Whole kingdoms in his gloomy den are thrust,
And nations mix with their primeval dust:
Insatiate still he gluts the ample tomb;
His is the present, his the age to come.
See here a brother, here a sister spread,
And a sweet daughter mingled with the dead.
But, Madam, let your grief be laid aside,
And let the fountain of your tears be dry'd,
In vain they flow to wet the dusty plain,
Your sighs are wafted to the skies in vain,
Your pains they witness, but they can no more,
While Death reigns tyrant o'er this mortal shore.
The glowing stars and silver queen of light
At last must perish in the gloom of night:
Resign thy friends to that Almighty hand,
Which gave them life, and bow to his command;
Thine Avis give without a murm'ring heart,
Though half thy soul be fated to depart.
To shining guards consign thine infant care
To waft triumphant through the seas of air:
Her soul enlarg'd to heav'nly pleasure springs,
She feeds on truth and uncreated things.
Methinks I hear her in the realms above,
And leaning forward with a filial love,
Invite you there to share immortal bliss
Unknown, untasted in a state like this.
With tow'ring hopes, and growing grace arise,
And seek beatitude beyond the skies.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEFGGHBIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQAA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101011111 1101001101 1101110101 101111101 110111101 0101011101 1100110111 0101110101 11110101 1101010111 1101010101 0011010101 1101111101 0101011111 0111110101 1111010101 1111011111 11110101101 0101010111 1111000111 0111110101 1111011101 110101011 1111110101 1101011101 1101010111 010111101 1111011 111000101 01010101001 0111110101 01100111 1111010101 0110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,444 |
Words | 266 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 34 |
Lines Amount | 34 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,155 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 264 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 1:22 min read
- 452 Views
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"To A Gentleman And Lady On The Death Of The Lady's Brother And Sister, And A Child Of The Name Of Avis, Aged One Year" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/29381/to-a-gentleman-and-lady-on-the-death-of-the-lady%27s-brother-and-sister%2C-and-a-child-of-the-name-of-avis%2C-aged-one-year>.
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