Analysis of Sonnet 92 [Behold that Tree, in Autumn’s dim decay]

Anna Seward 1742 (Eyam) – 1809



Behold that Tree, in Autumn’s dim decay,
   Stript by the frequent, chill, and eddying Wind;
   Where yet some yellow, lonely leaves we find
   Lingering and trembling on the naked spray,
Twenty, perchance, for millions whirl'd away!
   Emblem, alas! too just, of Humankind!
   Vain Man expects longevity, design'd
   For few indeed; and their protracted day
What is it worth that Wisdom does not scorn?
   The blasts of Sickness, Care, and Grief appal,
   That laid the Friends in dust, whose natal morn
Rose near their own;—and solemn is the call;—
   Yet, like those weak, deserted leaves forlorn,
   Shivering they cling to life, and fear to fall!


Scheme ABBAABBACDCDCD
Poetic Form
Metre 011101101 110101011 1111010111 100010010101 1001110101 100111110 1101010001 1101010101 1111110111 011101011 1101011101 1111010101 1111010101 10011110111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 657
Words 106
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 485
Words per stanza (avg) 104
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Submitted by halel on July 13, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
34

Anna Seward

Anna Seward was a long-eighteenth-century English Romantic poet, often called the Swan of Lichfield. more…

All Anna Seward poems | Anna Seward Books

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