Analysis of To a Young Lady, on Her Birthday
Samuel Johnson 1709 (Lichfield) – 1784 (London)
This tributary verse receive, my fair,
Warm with an ardent lover's fondest prayer,
May this returning day for ever find
Thy form more lovely, more adorn'd thy mind;
All pains, all cares, may favouring heaven remove,
All but the sweet solicitudes of love!
May powerful nature join with grateful art,
To point each glance, and force it to the heart!
O then! when conquer'd crowds confess thy sway,
When even proud wealth and prouder wit obey,
My fair, be mindful of the mighty trust,
Alas! 'tis hard for beauty to be just.
Those sovereign charms with strictest care employ;
Nor give the generous pain, the worthless joy;
With his own form acquaint the forward fool,
Shown in the mimic glass of ridicule:
Teach mimic censure her own faults to find,
No more let coquettes to themselves be blind,
So shall Belinda's charms improve mankind.
Scheme | AABBCDEEFFGGHHIIBBB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110010111 1111010101 1101011101 1111010111 1111111001 1101111 11001011101 1111011101 1111010111 11011010101 1111010101 0111110111 1101110101 11010010101 1111010101 100101110 1101001111 111110111 11110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 825 |
Words | 146 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 19 |
Lines Amount | 19 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 659 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 144 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 54 Views
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