Analysis of Ode to The Country Gentlemen Of England
Mark Akenside 1721 (Newcastle upon Tyne) – 1770
Thou, heedless Albion, what, alas, the while
Dost thou presume? O inexpert in arms,
Yet vain of freedom, how dost thou beguile,
With dreams of hope, these near and loud alarms?
Thy splendid home, thy plan of laws renown'd,
The praise and envy of the nations round,
What care hast thou to guard from fortune's sway?
Amid the storms of war, how soon may all
The lofty pile from its foundations fall,
Of ages the proud toil, the ruin of a day!
No: thou art rich, thy streams and fertile vales
Add industry's wise gifts to nature's store:
And every port is crowded with thy sails,
And every wave throws treasure on thy shore.
What boots it? If luxurious plenty charm
Thy selfish heart from glory, if thy arm
Shrink at the frowns of danger and of pain,
Those gifts, that treasure is no longer thine.
Oh rather far be poor. Thy gold will shine
Tempting the eye of force, and deck thee to thy bane.
But what hath force or war to do with thee?
Girt by the azure tide and thron'd sublime
Amid thy floating bulwarks, thou canst see,
With scorn, the fury of each hostile clime
Dash'd ere it reach thee. Sacred from the foe
Art thy fair fields: athwart thy guardian prow
No bold invader's foot shall tempt the strand--
Yet say my country, will the waves and wind
Obey thee? Hast thou all thy hopes resign'd
To the sky's fickle faith? the pilot's wavering hand?
Nor yet be aw'd, nor yet your task disown,
Though war's proud votaries look on severe;
Though secrets, taught erewhile to them alone,
They deem profan'd by your intruding ear.
Let them in vain, your martial hope to quell,
Of new refinements, fiercer weapons tell,
And mock the old simplicity, in vain:
To the time's warfare, simple or refin'd,
The time itself adapts the warrior's mind;
And equal prowess still shall equal palms obtain.
Scheme | ABABCCDEED FGFGHHIJJI KXKHXXLMML NXNXOOIMMI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1110010101 11011101 1111011101 1111110101 1101111101 0101010101 1111111101 0101111111 0101110101 110011010101 1111110101 1100111101 01001110111 01001110111 11110100101 1101110111 1101110011 1111011101 1101111111 100111011111 1111111111 1101010101 011101111 1101011101 1111110101 11110111001 11111101 1111010101 0111111101 1011010101001 1111111101 11111101 110111101 111110101 1101110111 1101010101 0101010001 101110101 010101011 010101110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,035 |
Words | 326 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 10, 10, 10 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 347 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 81 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:42 min read
- 104 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Ode to The Country Gentlemen Of England" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/26512/ode-to-the-country-gentlemen-of-england>.
Discuss this Mark Akenside poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In