Analysis of To His Honour The Lieutenant-Governor, On The Death Of His Lady Marc 24, 1773
Phillis Wheatley 1753 (West Africa) – 1784 (Boston)
ALL-Conquering Death! by thy resistless pow'r,
Hope's tow'ring plumage falls to rise no more!
Of scenes terrestrial how the glories fly,
Forget their splendors, and submit to die!
Who ere escap'd thee, but the saint * of old
Beyond the flood in sacred annals told,
And the great sage, + whom fiery coursers drew
To heav'n's bright portals from Elisha's view;
Wond'ring he gaz'd at the refulgent car,
Then snatch'd the mantle floating on the air.
From Death these only could exemption boast,
And without dying gain'd th' immortal coast.
Not falling millions sate the tyrant's mind,
Nor can the victor's progress be confin'd.
But cease thy strife with Death, fond Nature, cease:
He leads the virtuous to the realms of peace;
* Enoch. + Elijah.
His to conduct to the immortal plains,
Where heav'n's Supreme in bliss and glory reigns.
There sits, illustrious Sir, thy beauteous spouse;
A gem-blaz'd circle beaming on her brows.
Hail'd with acclaim among the heav'nly choirs,
Her soul new-kindling with seraphic fires,
To notes divine she tunes the vocal strings,
While heav'n's high concave with the music rings.
Virtue's rewards can mortal pencil paint?
No--all descriptive arts, and eloquence are faint;
Nor canst thou, Oliver, assent refuse
To heav'nly tidings from the Afric muse.
As soon may change thy laws, eternal fate,
As the saint miss the glories I relate;
Or her Benevolence forgotten lie,
Which wip'd the trick'ling tear from Misry's eye.
Whene'er the adverse winds were known to blow,
When loss to loss * ensu'd, and woe to woe,
Calm and serene beneath her father's hand
She sat resign'd to the divine command.
No longer then, great Sir, her death deplore,
And let us hear the mournful sigh no more,
Restrain the sorrow streaming from thine eye,
Be all thy future moments crown'd with joy!
Nor let thy wishes be to earth confin'd,
But soaring high pursue th' unbodied mind.
Forgive the muse, forgive th' advent'rous lays,
That fain thy soul to heav'nly scenes would raise.
Scheme | ABCCDDEEAXFFGGHH X IIXXXXJJKKLLMMCCNNOOBBCXGGPP |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (22%) |
Metre | 1100111111 1111011111 11010010101 011100111 1101110111 0101010101 0011110011 11110111 11111011 1101010101 1111010101 001101110101 110101011 110101101 1111111101 11010010111 10010 1101100101 1101010101 1101001111 0111010101 110101011 011101110 1101110101 1110110101 101110101 110101010011 1111000101 11101011 1111110101 1011010101 1001000101 110111111 100110111 1111010111 1001010101 1101100101 1101110101 0111010111 0101010111 1111010111 1111011101 1101011111 0101011111 111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,966 |
Words | 336 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 16, 1, 28 |
Lines Amount | 45 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 515 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 114 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:51 min read
- 37 Views
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"To His Honour The Lieutenant-Governor, On The Death Of His Lady Marc 24, 1773" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/29389/to-his-honour-the-lieutenant-governor%2C-on-the-death-of-his-lady-marc-24%2C-1773>.
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