Analysis of Annus Memorabilis : Written in Commemoration of His Majesty's Happy Recovery
William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)
I ransack'd for a theme of song,
Much ancient chronicle, and long;
I read of bright embattled fields,
Of trophied helmets, spears, and shields,
Of chiefs, whose single arm could boast
Prowess to dissipate a host;
Through tomes of fable and of dream
I sought an eligible theme,
But none I found, or found them shared
Already by some happier bard.
To modern times, with truth to guide
My busy search, I next applied;
Here cities won, and fleets dispersed,
Urged loud a claim to be rehearsed,
Deeds of unperishing renown,
Our fathers’ triumphs and our own.
Thus as the bee, from bank to bower,
Assiduous sips at every flower,
But rests on none till that be found
Where most nectareous sweets abound,
So I, from theme to theme display’d
In many a page historic, stray’d,
Siege after siege, fight after fight,
Contemplating with small delight
(For feats of sanguinary hue
Not always glitter in my view),
Till, settling on the current year,
I found the far-sought treasure near,
A theme for poetry divine,
A theme to ennoble even mine,
In memorable eighty-nine.
The spring of eighty-nine shall be
An æra cherish’d long by me,
Which joyful I will oft record,
And thankful at my frugal board;
For then the clouds of eighty-eight,
That threaten’d England’s trembling state
With loss of what she least could spare,
Her sovereign’s tutelary care,
One breath of heaven, that cried—Restore!
Chased, never to assemble more:
And for the richest crown on earth,
If valued by its wearer’s worth,
The symbol of a righteous reign
Sat fast on George’s brows again.
Then peace and joy again possess’d
Our Queen’s long-agitated breast;
Such joy and peace as can be known
By sufferers like herself alone,
Who losing, or supposing lost,
The good on earth they valued most,
For that dear sorrow’s sake forego
All hope of happiness below,
Then suddenly regain the prize,
And flash thanksgivings to the skies!
O Queen of Albion, queen of isles!
Since all thy tears were changed to smiles,
The eyes, that never saw thee, shine
With joy not unallied to thine;
Transports not chargeable with art
Illume the land’s remotest part,
And strangers to the air of courts,
Both in their toils and at their sports,
The happiness of answer’d prayers,
That gilds thy features, show in theirs.
If they who on thy state attend,
Awe-struck, before thy presence bend,
‘Tis but the natural effect
Of grandeur that ensures respect;
But she is something more than queen
Who is beloved where never seen.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEFGGHHIJKKLLCCMMNNOOPPPQQRRSSTTUUVVWXCYJJZC1 1 2 2 3 3 PP4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1110111 11010001 11110101 1110101 11110111 1011001 11110011 11110001 11111111 010111001 11011111 11011101 11010101 11011101 11101 1010100101 110111110 0101110010 11111111 111101 1111111 010010101 11011101 1001101 11111 1110011 110010101 11011101 01110001 011010101 01000101 01110111 111111 11011101 01011101 11011101 11101001 11111111 01011 111101101 11010101 01010111 11011101 01010101 11110101 1101011 10111001 11011111 110010101 11010101 01111101 11110101 11110001 11000101 011101 111100111 11110111 01110111 111111 01110011 1010101 01010111 10110111 0100111 11110101 11111101 11011101 11010001 10110101 11110111 11011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,426 |
Words | 425 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 71 |
Lines Amount | 71 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,932 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 423 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:07 min read
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"Annus Memorabilis : Written in Commemoration of His Majesty's Happy Recovery" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/39814/annus-memorabilis-%3A-written-in-commemoration-of-his-majesty%27s-happy-recovery>.
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