Analysis of Slender's Ghost
William Shenstone 1714 (Halesowen) – 1763 (Halesowen)
Beneath a churchyard yew,
Decay'd and worn with age,
At dusk of eve methought I spied
Poor Slender's Ghost, that whimpering cried,
'O sweet! O sweet Anne Page!'
Ye gentle Bards! give ear,
Who talk of amorous rage,
Who spoil the lily, rob the rose,
Come learn of me to weep your woes:
'O sweet! O sweet Anne Page!'
Why should such labour'd strains
Your formal Muse engage?
I never dreamt of flame or dart,
That fired my breast or pierced my heart,
But sigh'd, 'O sweet Anne Page!'
And you! whose lovesick minds
No med'cine can assuage,
Accuse the leech's art no more,
But learn of Slender to deplore;
'O sweet! O sweet Anne Page!'
And ye! whose souls are held,
Like linnets in a cage;
Who talk of fetters, links, and chains,
Attend and imitate my strains;
'O sweet! O sweet Anne Page!'
And you! who boast or grieve,
What horrid wars ye wage,
Of wounds received from many an eye,
Yet mean as I do, when I sigh,
'O sweet! O sweet Anne Page!'
Hence every fond conceit
Of shepherd or of sage;
'Tis Slender's voice, 'tis Slender's way,
Expresses all you have to say,
'O sweet! O sweet Anne Page!'
Scheme | xabbA xaccA daeea xaffA xaddA xaggA xahhA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01011 010111 1111111 11111001 111111 110111 1111001 11010101 11111111 111111 11111 110101 11011111 110111111 111111 01111 11101 0101111 11110101 111111 011111 11001 11110101 0101011 111111 011111 110111 110111011 11111111 111111 1100101 110111 111111 01011111 111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,080 |
Words | 215 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 35 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 116 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 29 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:04 min read
- 51 Views
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