Analysis of An Invitation To Maecenas
Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)
Dear, noble friend! a virgin cask
Of wine solicits your attention;
And roses fair, to deck your hair,
And things too numerous to mention.
So tear yourself awhile away
From urban turmoil, pride, and splendor,
And deign to share what humble fare
And sumptuous fellowship I tender.
The sweet content retirement brings
Smoothes out the ruffled front of kings.
The evil planets have combined
To make the weather hot and hotter;
By parboiled streams the shepherd dreams
Vainly of ice-cream soda-water.
And meanwhile you, defying heat,
With patriotic ardor ponder
On what old Rome essays at home,
And what her heathen do out yonder.
Maecenas, no such vain alarm
Disturbs the quiet of this farm!
God in His providence obscures
The goal beyond this vale of sorrow,
And smiles at men in pity when
They seek to penetrate the morrow.
With faith that all is for the best,
Let's bear what burdens are presented,
That we shall say, let come what may,
'We die, as we have lived, contented!
Ours is to-day; God's is the rest,--
He doth ordain who knoweth best.'
Dame Fortune plays me many a prank.
When she is kind, oh, how I go it!
But if again she's harsh,--why, then
I am a very proper poet!
When favoring gales bring in my ships,
I hie to Rome and live in clover;
Elsewise I steer my skiff out here,
And anchor till the storm blows over.
Compulsory virtue is the charm
Of life upon the Sabine farm!
Scheme | XABACDBDEE XDXDXDXDFF XGHGIJCJII XXHXXDXDFF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (23%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11010101 110101010 01011111 011100110 11010101 11011010 01111101 01010110 011001001 11010111 01010101 110101010 1110101 101111010 0110101 10101010 11110111 010101110 111101 01010111 10110001 010111110 01110101 11110010 11111101 111101010 11111111 111111010 101111101 1101111 110111001 111111111 11011111 110101010 110011011 111101010 1111111 010101110 010010101 11010011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,354 |
Words | 255 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 10, 10, 10 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 270 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 63 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:17 min read
- 104 Views
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"An Invitation To Maecenas" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/12895/an-invitation-to-maecenas>.
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