Analysis of Anacreontic
Thomas Oldham 1816 (Dublin,) – 1878 (Rugby, )
Let us, my Friends, our mirth forbear,
While yonder Censor mounts the chair:
His form erect, his stately pace,
His huge, white wig, his solemn face,
His scowling brows, his ken severe,
His haughty pleasure-chiding sneer,
Some high Philosopher declare:
Hush! let us hear him from the chair:
'Ye giddy youths! I hate your mirth;
How ill-beseeming sons of earth!
Know ye not well the fate of man?
That death is certain, life a span?
That merriment soon sinks in sorrow,
Sunshine to-day, and clouds to-morrow?
Hearken then, fools! to Reason's voice,
That bids ye mourn, and not rejoice?'
Such gloomy thoughts, grave Sage! are thine,
Now, gentle Friends! attend to mine.
Since mortals must die,
Since life's but a span,
'Tis wisdom, say I,
To live while we can,
And fill up with pleasure
The poor little measure.
Of fate to complain
How simple and vain!
Long faces I hate;
They shorten the date.
My Friends! while ye may,
Be jovial to-day;
The things that will be
Ne'er wish to foresee;
Or, should ye employ
Your thoughts on to-morrow,
Let Hope sing of joy,
Not Fear croak of sorrow.
But see! the Sage flies, so no more.
Now, Friends! drink and sing, as before.
Scheme | AABBAAAA CCDDAAEE FFGDGDAAHHIIJJKKLALAAA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111011 11010101 11011101 11111101 11011101 11010101 11010001 11111101 11011111 111111 11110111 11110101 1111010 11101110 111111 11110101 11011111 11010111 11011 11101 11011 11111 011110 011010 11101 11001 11011 11001 11111 110011 01111 11101 11101 111110 11111 111110 11011111 11101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,127 |
Words | 208 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 22 |
Lines Amount | 38 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 294 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 68 |
Font size:
Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:03 min read
- 0 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Anacreontic" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/56788/anacreontic>.
Discuss this Thomas Oldham poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In