Analysis of The Philosopher, the Young Man, and his Statue

Anne Kingsmill Finch 1661 – 1720 (Westminster)



A Fond Athenian Mother brought
A Sculptor to indulge her Thought,
 And carve her Only Son;
Who to such strange perfection wrought,
That every Eye the Statue caught
 Nor ought was left undone.

A youthful Smile adorn'd the Face,
The polish gave that Smile a Grace;
 And through the Marble reigns
(Which well the Artist's Skill cou'd trace,
And in their due Positions place)
 A Thread of purple Veins.

The Parasites about it came,
(Whose Praises were too large to name)
 And to each other said;
The Man so well had reach'd his Aim,
Th' Original cou'd o'er it claim
 Only a native Red.

Mean while a Sage, amidst the Croud,
Thus, with a Precept wise and loud,
 Check'd the Vain-glorious Boy;
By telling him, who now grew proud,
That tho' with Beauty 'twas endow'd,
 The Figure was a Toy:

Of no Advantage to the State,
'Twou'd neither combate, nor debate,
 But idly stand alone;
Bids him beware, whilst Men create
In Stone thus his Resemblance great,
 He proves not like the Stone.


Scheme AABAXB CCDCCD EEFEEF AGHGGH IIJIIJ
Poetic Form Etheree  (30%)
Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 010100101 01010101 010101 11110101 11001011 111101 01010101 01011101 010101 11010111 00110101 011101 0100111 11001111 011101 01111111 11010011011 100101 11010101 1101101 1011001 11011111 11110101 010101 11010101 1101101 110101 11011101 01110101 111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 983
Words 175
Sentences 5
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 30
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 149
Words per stanza (avg) 35
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

55 sec read
64

Anne Kingsmill Finch

Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea (née Kingsmill), was an English poet and courtier. Finch's works often express a desire for respect as a female poet, lamenting her difficult position as a woman in the literary establishment and the court, while writing of "political ideology, religious orientation, and aesthetic sensibility". Her works also allude to other female authors of the time, such as Aphra Behn and Katherine Phillips. Through her commentary on the mental and spiritual equality of the genders and the importance of women fulfilling their potential as a moral duty to themselves and to society, she is regarded as one of the integral female poets of the Restoration Era. Finch died in Westminster in 1720 and was buried at her home at Eastwell, Kent.  more…

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