Analysis of The Problem
Thomas Hardy 1840 (Stinsford) – 1928 (Dorchester, Dorset)
Shall we conceal the Case, or tell it -
We who believe the evidence?
Here and there the watch-towers knell it
With a sullen significance,
Heard of the few who hearken intently and carry an eagerly upstrained
sense.
Hearts that are happiest hold not by it;
Better we let, then, the old view reign;
Since there is peace in it, why decry it?
Since there is comfort, why disdain?
Note not the pigment the while that the painting determines
humanity's joy and pain!
| Scheme | ABABAX ACACXC |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 110101111 11010100 101011011 10100100 11011101001011001 1 1111001111 101110111 1111011011 11110101 11010011010010 0100101 |
| Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
| Characters | 489 |
| Words | 85 |
| Sentences | 6 |
| Stanzas | 2 |
| Stanza Lengths | 6, 6 |
| Lines Amount | 12 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
| Words per line (avg) | 7 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 181 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 42 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 25 sec read
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"The Problem" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/36544/the-problem>.
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