Analysis of To a Young Poet who Killed Himself
1 When you had played with life a space
2 And made it drink and lust and sing,
3 You flung it back into God's face
4 And thought you did a noble thing.
5 "Lo, I have lived and loved," you said,
6 "And sung to fools too dull to hear me.
7 Now for a cool and grassy bed
8 With violets in blossom near me."
9 Well, rest is good for weary feet,
10 Although they ran for no great prize;
11 And violets are very sweet,
12 Although their roots are in your eyes.
13 But hark to what the earthworms say
14 Who share with you your muddy haven:
15 "The fight was on -- you ran away.
16 You are a coward and a craven."
17 "The rug is ruined where you bled;
18 It was a dirty way to die!
19 To put a bullet through your head
20 And make a silly woman cry!
21 You could not vex the merry stars
22 Nor make them heed you, dead or living.
23 Not all your puny anger mars
24 God's irresistible forgiving.
25 "Yes, God forgives and men forget,
26 And you're forgiven and forgotten.
27 You may be gaily sinning yet
28 And quick and fresh instead of rotten.
29 And when you think of love and fame
30 And all that might have come to pass,
31 Then don't you feel a little shame?
32 And don't you think you were an ass?"
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFGHGH CICIJBJB KHKHLMLM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111101 01110101 11110111 01110101 11110111 011111111 11010101 110001011 11111101 1111111 01001101 1111011 1111011 111111010 01111101 110100010 01110111 11010111 11010111 01010101 11110101 111111110 11110101 10100010 11010101 010100010 11110101 010101110 01111101 01111111 11110101 01111011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,288 |
Words | 259 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 11 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 225 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 92 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 26, 2023
- 1:18 min read
- 46 Views
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"To a Young Poet who Killed Himself" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/24664/to-a-young-poet-who-killed-himself>.
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