Analysis of Time Spent In Dress
Charles Lamb 1775 (Inner Temple, London) – 1834 (Edmonton, London)
In many a lecture, many a book,
You all have heard, you all have read,
That time is precious. Of its use
Much has been written, much been said.
The accomplishments which gladden life,
As music, drawing, dancing, are
Encroachers on our precious time;
Their praise or dispraise I forbear.
They should be practised or forborne,
As parents wish, or friends desire:
What rests alone in their own will
Is all I of the young require.
There's not a more productive source
Of waste of time to the young mind
Than dress; as it regards our hours
My view of it is now confined.
Without some calculation, youth
May live to age and never guess,
That no one study they pursue
Takes half the time they give to dress.
Write in your memorandum-book
The time you at your toilette spend;
Then every moment which you pass,
Talking of dress with a young friend:
And ever when your silent thoughts
Have on this subject been intent,
Set down as nearly as you can
How long on dress your thoughts were bent.
If faithfully you should perform
This task, 'twould teach you to repair
Lost hours, by giving unto dress
Not more of time than its due share.
Scheme | ABXB XCXC DEXE XFXF XGXG AHXH XIDI XJGJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 0100101001 11111111 11110111 11110111 001001101 11010101 1110101 111111 111111 110111010 11010111 11110110 11010101 11111011 1111011010 11111101 0110101 11110101 11110101 11011111 1010101 0111111 110010111 10111011 01011101 11101101 11110111 11111101 11001101 11111101 110110101 11111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,100 |
Words | 208 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 111 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 26 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:02 min read
- 119 Views
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"Time Spent In Dress" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/5424/time-spent-in-dress>.
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