Death And The Unfortunate.

Jean de La Fontaine 1621 (Château-Thierry) – 1695 (Paris)



A poor unfortunate, from day to day,
Call'd Death to take him from this world away.
'O Death' he said, 'to me how fair thy form!
Come quick, and end for me life's cruel storm.'
Death heard, and with a ghastly grin,
Knock'd at his door, and enter'd in
'Take out this object from my sight!'
The poor man loudly cried.
'Its dreadful looks I can't abide;
O stay him, stay him' let him come no nigher;
O Death! O Death! I pray thee to retire!'
  
A gentleman of note
In Rome, Maecenas,somewhere wrote: -
"Make me the poorest wretch that begs,
Sore, hungry, crippled, clothed in rags,
In hopeless impotence of arms and legs;
Provided, after all, you give
The one sweet liberty to live:
I'll ask of Death no greater favour
Than just to stay away for ever."
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on April 20, 2023

44 sec read
52

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABBCCXDDEE FFGXGXXEE
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 730
Words 146
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 11, 9

Jean de La Fontaine

Jean de La Fontaine, (8 July 1621 – 13 April 1695) was a famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional languages. After a long period of royal suspicion, he was at last admitted to the French Academy and his reputation in France has never faded since. Evidence of this is found in the many pictures and statues of the writer, as well as later depictions on medals, coins and postage stamps. more…

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