Analysis of Ode to Indolence
William Shenstone 1714 (Halesowen) – 1763 (Halesowen)
Ah! why for ever on the wing
Persists my wearied soul to roam?
Why, ever cheated, strives to bring
Or pleasure or contentment home?
Thus the poor bird, that draws his name
From Paradise's honour'd groves,
Careless fatigues his little frame,
Nor finds the resting-place he loves.
Lo! on the rural mossy bed
My limbs with careless ease reclined;
Ah, gentle Sloth! indulgent spread
The same soft bandage o'er my mind.
For why should lingering thought invade,
Yet every worldly prospect cloy?
Lend me, soft Sloth! thy friendly aid,
And give me peace, debarr'd of joy.
Lov'st thou yon calm and silent flood,
That never ebbs, that never flows;
Protected by the circling wood
From each tempestuous wind that blows?
An altar on its bank shall rise,
Where oft thy votary shall be found;
What time pale Autumn lulls the skies,
And sickening verdure fades around.
Ye busy Race! ye factious Train!
That haunt ambition's guilty shrine;
No more perplex the world in vain,
But offer here your vows with mine.
And thou, puissant Queen! be kind:
If e'er I shared thy balmy power,
If e'er I sway'd my active mind
To weave for thee the rural bower;
Dissolve in sleep each anxious care;
Each unavailing sigh remove;
And only let me wake to share
The sweets of friendship and of love.
Scheme | ABAB CXCX DEDE FGFG XHXH IJIJ KLKL EMEM NXNX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (78%) |
Metre | 11110101 01110111 11010111 11010101 10111111 1111 10011101 11010111 1101011 11110101 11010101 011101011 111100101 110010101 11111101 0111111 11110101 11011101 010101001 11100111 11011111 1111111 11110101 01001101 1101111 111101 11010101 11011111 011111 1101111010 110111101 111101010 01011101 1010101 01011111 01110011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,236 |
Words | 224 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 110 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:09 min read
- 60 Views
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