Analysis of Memory
William Wordsworth 1770 (Wordsworth House) – 1850 (Cumberland)
A pen--to register; a key--
That winds through secret wards
Are well assigned to Memory
By allegoric Bards.
As aptly, also, might be given
A Pencil to her hand;
That, softening objects, sometimes even
Outstrips the heart's demand;
That smooths foregone distress, the lines
Of lingering care subdues,
Long-vanished happiness refines,
And clothes in brighter hues;
Yet, like a tool of Fancy, works
Those Spectres to dilate
That startle Conscience, as she lurks
Within her lonely seat.
Oh! that our lives, which flee so fast,
In purity were such,
That not an image of the past
Should fear that pencil's touch!
Retirement then might hourly look
Upon a soothing scene,
Age steal to his allotted nook
Contented and serene;
With heart as calm as lakes that sleep,
In frosty moonlight glistening;
Or mountain rivers, where they creep
Along a channel smooth and deep,
To their own far-off murmurs listening.
Scheme | ABAB XCXC DBDX EXEX FGFG HIHI JKJJK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01110001 111101 11011100 111 110101110 010101 1100100110 010101 11110101 110011 11010001 010101 11011101 11101 11010111 010101 111011111 010001 11110101 11111 010011101 010101 11110101 010001 11111111 0101100 11010111 01010101 1111110100 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 906 |
Words | 151 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5 |
Lines Amount | 29 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 102 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 21 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 1,280 Views
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"Memory" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42272/memory>.
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