Analysis of Advice To An Old Man of Sixty Three About To Marry a Girle of Sixteen
Thomas Flatman 1635 (United Kingdom) – 1688
Now fie upon him! what is Man,
Whose life at best is but a span?
When to an inch it dwindles down,
Ice in his bones, snow on his Crown,
That he within his crazy brain,
Kind thoughts of Love should entertain,
That he, when Harvest comes should plow
And when 'tis time to reap, go sowe,
Who in imagination only strong,
Tho' twice a Child, can never twice grow young
Nature did those design for Fools,
That sue for work, yet have no tools.
What fellow feeling can there be
In such a strange disparity?
Old age mistakes the youthful breast,
Love dwels not there, but interest:
Alas Good Man! take thy repose,
Get ribband for thy thumbs, and toes,
Provide thee flannel, and a sheet of lead,
Think on thy Coffin, not thy bridal bed.
Scheme | AABBCCXXXX DDEEXXFFGG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (45%) |
Metre | 11011111 11111101 11111101 10111111 11011101 1111101 11110111 01111111 100010101 1101110111 10110111 11111111 11010111 01010100 11010101 1111110 01111101 1111101 0111000111 1111011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 768 |
Words | 140 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 10 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 280 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 69 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 76 Views
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"Advice To An Old Man of Sixty Three About To Marry a Girle of Sixteen" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/36277/advice-to-an-old-man-of-sixty-three-about-to-marry-a-girle-of-sixteen>.
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