Analysis of To Robert Batty, M.D., on His Giving Me a Lock of Milton's Hair
James Henry Leigh Hunt 1784 (Southgate, London) – 1859
It lies before me there, and my own breath
Stirs its thin outer threads, as though beside
The living head I stood in honoured pride,
Talking of lovely things that conquer death.
Perhaps he pressed it once, or underneath
Ran his fine fingers when he leant, blank-eyed,
And saw in fancy Adam and his bride
With their heaped locks, or his own Delphic wreath.
There seems a love in hair, though it be dead.
It is the gentlest, yet the strongest thread
Of our frail plant,--a blossom from the tree
Surviving the proud trunk; as if it said,
Patience and gentleness in power. In me
Behold affectionate eternity.
Scheme | ABBACBBC DDEDEE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101110111 1111011101 010111011 1011011101 011111101 11110111011 0101010011 1111111101 1101011111 11010010101 11011010101 0100111111 10010001001 0101000100 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 612 |
Words | 111 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 239 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 54 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 102 Views
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"To Robert Batty, M.D., on His Giving Me a Lock of Milton's Hair" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20131/to-robert-batty%2C-m.d.%2C-on-his-giving-me-a-lock-of-milton%27s-hair>.
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