Analysis of Horace to Melpomene
Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)
Lofty and enduring is the monument I've reared,--
Come, tempests, with your bitterness assailing;
And thou, corrosive blasts of time, by all things mortal feared,
Thy buffets and thy rage are unavailing!
I shall not altogether die; by far my greater part
Shall mock man's common fate in realms infernal;
My works shall live as tributes to my genius and my art,--
My works shall be my monument eternal!
While this great Roman empire stands and gods protect our fanes,
Mankind with grateful hearts shall tell the story,
How one most lowly born upon the parched Apulian plains
First raised the native lyric muse to glory.
Assume, revered Melpomene, the proud estate I've won,
And, with thine own dear hand the meed supplying,
Bind thou about the forehead of thy celebrated son
The Delphic laurel-wreath of fame undying!
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GBGB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 1000101010011 1111100010 01010111111101 1100111010 1110101111101 11110101010 11111101110011 11111100010 1111010010101101 11110111010 111101010111 11010101110 01011010111 01111101010 1101010111001 01010111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 817 |
Words | 142 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 41 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 163 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 43 sec read
- 91 Views
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"Horace to Melpomene" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/12966/horace-to-melpomene>.
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