Analysis of To T.L.H.
Charles Lamb 1775 (Inner Temple, London) – 1834 (Edmonton, London)
Model of thy parent dear,
Serious infant worth a fear:
In thy unfaultering visage well
Picturing forth the son of Tell,
When on his forehead, firm and good,
Motionless mark, the apple stood;
Guileless traitor, rebel mild,
Convict unconscious, culprit-child!
Gates that close with iron roar
Have been to thee thy nursery door;
Chains that chink in cheerless cells
Have been thy rattles and thy bells;
Walls contrived for giant sin
Have hemmed thy faultless weakness in;
Near thy sinless bed black Guilt
Her discordant house hath built,
And filled it with her monstrous brood-
Sights, by thee not understood-
Sights of fear, and of distress,
That pass a harmless infant's guess!
But the clouds, that overcast
Thy young morning, may not last.
Soon shall arrive the rescuing hour,
That yields thee up to Nature's power.
Nature, that so late doth greet thee,
Shall in o'er-flowing measure meet thee.
She shall recompense with cost
For every lesson thou hast lost.
Then wandering up thy sire's lov'd hill,
Thou shalt take thy airy fill
Of health and pastime. Birds shall sing
For thy delight each May morning.
'Mid new-yean'd lambkins thou shalt play,
Hardly less a lamb than they.
Then thy prison's lengthened bound
Shall be the horizon skirting round.
And, while thou fill'st thy lap with flowers,
To make amends for wintery hours,
The breeze, the sunshine, and the place,
Shall from thy tender brow efface
Each vestige of untimely care,
That sour restraint had graven there;
And on thy every look impress
A more excelling childishness.
So shall be thy days beguil'd,
Thornton Hunt, my favourite child.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHXCII JJKKLLXXMMNNOOPPQQRRSSIF DD |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011101 10010101 011101 10010111 11110101 10010101 1010101 1010101 1111101 111111001 111011 11110011 1011101 1111100 111111 0010111 01110101 111101 1110101 11010101 101110 1110111 1101010010 111111010 10111111 1010101011 111011 110010111 110011111 1111101 1101111 11011110 1111111 1010111 1110101 110010101 0111111110 11011110 0101001 11110101 11010101 110011101 011100101 010101 1111101 101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,570 |
Words | 272 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 20, 24, 2 |
Lines Amount | 46 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 423 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 89 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 16, 2023
- 1:24 min read
- 37 Views
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"To T.L.H." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/5430/to-t.l.h.>.
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