Analysis of The Young Author
Samuel Johnson 1709 (Lichfield) – 1784 (London)
When first the peasant, long inclined to roam,
Forsakes his rural sports and peaceful home,
Pleas'd with the scene the smiling ocean yields,
He scorns the verdant meads and flowery fields;
Then dances jocund o'er the watery way,
While the breeze whispers, and the streamers play;
Unbounded prospects in his bosom roll,
And future millions lift his rising soul;
In blissful dreams he digs the golden mine,
And raptured sees the new-found ruby shine.
Joys insincere, thick clouds invade the skies,
Loud roar the billows, high the waves arise;
Sickening with fear, he longs to view the shore
And vows to trust the faithless deep no more.
So the Young Author, panting after fame,
And the long honours of a lasting name,
Intrusts his happiness to human kind,
More false, more cruel, than the seas, or wind.
'Toil on, dull crowd' (in ecstasies he cries)
'For wealth or title, perishable prize:
While I those transitory blessings scorn,
Secure of praise from ages yet unborn.' -
This thought once form'd, all counsel comes too late,
He flies to press, and hurries on his fate;
Swiftly he sees the imagined laurels spread,
And feels the unfading wreath surround his head.
Warn'd by another's fate, vain youth, be wise,
Those dreams were Settle's once, and Ogilby's!
The pamphlet spreads, incessant hisses rise,
To some retreat the baffled writer flies;
Where no sour critics snarl, no sneers molest,
Safe from the tart lampoon, and stinging jest;
There begs of Heaven a less distinguish'd lot,
Glad to be hid, and proud to be forgot.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIFFJJKKLLFBFFMMNN |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101010111 111010101 1101010101 11010101001 11011001001 1011000101 0101001101 0101011101 0101110101 011011101 101110101 1101010101 10011111101 011101111 1011010101 001110101 111001101 1111010111 11110111 1111010001 111100101 0111110111 1111110111 1111010111 10110010101 010110111 1101011111 1101101 0101010101 1101010101 11101011101 1101010101 11110010101 1111011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,501 |
Words | 262 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 34 |
Lines Amount | 34 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,199 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 259 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:20 min read
- 33 Views
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