A Reading Of Life--The Vital Choice

George Meredith 1828 (Portsmouth, Hampshire) – 1909 (Box Hill, Surrey)



I.

Or shall we run with Artemis
Or yield the breast to Aphrodite?
Both are mighty;
Both give bliss;
Each can torture if divided;
Each claims worship undivided,
In her wake would have us wallow.

II.

Youth must offer on bent knees
Homage unto one or other;
Earth, the mother,
This decrees;
And unto the pallid Scyther
Either points us shun we either
Shun or too devoutly follow.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

21 sec read
415

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBAXXC ADDADDC
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 369
Words 70
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 7, 7

George Meredith

George Meredith was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times. more…

All George Meredith poems | George Meredith Books

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