Analysis of Vanitas Vanitatis, Etc.
Anne Brontë 1820 (Thornton, West Yorkshire) – 1849 (Scarborough, North Yorkshire)
In all we do, and hear, and see,
Is restless Toil and Vanity;
While yet the rolling earth abides,
Men come and go like Ocean tides;
And ere one generation dies,
Another in its place shall rise.
That sinking soon into the grave,
Others succeed, like wave on wave;
And as they rise, they pass away.
The sun arises every day,
And hastening onward to the west
He nightly sinks but not to rest;
Returning to the eastern skies,
Again to light us he must rise.
And still the restless wind comes forth
Now blowing keenly from the north,
Now from the South, the East, the West;
For ever changing, ne'er at rest.
The fountains, gushing from the hills,
Supply the ever-running rills;
The thirsty rivers drink their store,
And bear it rolling to the shore,
But still the ocean craves for more.
'Tis endless labour everywhere,
Sound cannot satisfy the ear,
Sight cannot fill the craving eye,
Nor riches happiness supply,
Pleasure but doubles future pain;
And joy brings sorrow in her train.
Laughter is mad, and reckless mirth,
What does she in this weary earth?
Should wealth or fame our life employ,
Death comes our labour to destroy,
To snatch th' untasted cup away,
For which we toiled so many a day.
What then remains for wretched man?
To use life's comforts while he can:
Enjoy the blessings God bestows,
Assist his friends, forgive his foes,
Trust God, and keep His statutes still
Upright and firm, through good and ill --
Thankful for all that God has given,
Fixing his firmest hopes on heaven;
Knowing that earthly joys decay,
But hoping through the darkest day.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFCCGGFFHAIIIJKLLMMNNOOEEPPQQRRSSEE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 01110101 11010100 11010101 11011101 0110101 01001111 11010101 10011111 01111101 010101001 010010101 11011111 01010101 01111111 01010111 11010101 11010101 11010111 01010101 01010101 01010111 01110101 11010111 110110 1101001 11010101 11010001 10110101 01110001 10110101 11101101 111110101 11101101 11111101 111111001 11011101 11110111 01010101 01110111 11011101 01011101 101111110 101101110 10110101 11010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,524 |
Words | 279 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 45 |
Lines Amount | 45 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,222 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 277 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:24 min read
- 78 Views
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"Vanitas Vanitatis, Etc." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/3186/vanitas-vanitatis%2C-etc.>.
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