Analysis of Pan liveth
Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)
They told me once that Pan was dead,
And so, in sooth, I thought him;
For vainly where the streamlets led
Through flowery meads I sought him--
Nor in his dewy pasture bed
Nor in the grove I caught him.
"Tell me," 'twas so my clamor ran--
"Tell me, oh, where is Pan?"
But, once, as on my pipe I played
A requiem sad and tender,
Lo, thither came a shepherd-maid--
Full comely she and slender!
I were indeed a churlish blade
With wailings to offend 'er--
For, surely, wooing's sweeter than
A mourning over Pan!
So, presently, whiles I did scan
That shepherd-maiden pretty,
And heard her accents, I began
To pipe a cheerful ditty;
And so, betimes, forgot old Pan
Whose death had waked my pity;
So--so did Love undo the man
Who sought and pined for Pan!
He was not dead! I found him there--
The Pan that I was after!
Caught in that maiden's tangling hair,
Drunk with her song and laughter!
I doubt if there be otherwhere
A merrier god or dafter--
Nay, nor a mortal kindlier than
Is this same dear old Pan!
Beside me, as my pipe I play,
My shepherdess is lying,
While here and there her lambkins stray
As sunny hours go flying;
They look like me--those lambs--they say,
And that I'm not denying!
And for that sturdy, romping clan,
All glory be to Pan!
Pan is not dead, O sweetheart mine!
It is to hear his voices
In every note and every line
Wherein the heart rejoices!
He liveth in that sacred shrine
That Love's first, holiest choice is!
So pipe, my pipe, while still you can,
Sweet songs in praise of Pan!
Scheme | ABABABCC DEDEDECC CFCFCFCC GEGEEECC HIHIHICC JKJKJXCC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111111 0101111 1101011 11001111 10110101 1001111 11111101 111111 11111111 01001010 1110101 1101010 10010101 111010 1101101 010101 11001111 1101010 01010101 1101010 0110111 1111110 11110101 110111 11111111 0111110 1011101 1101010 111111 0100111 1101011 111111 01111111 11110 1101011 11010110 11111111 0111010 01110101 110111 1111111 1111110 0100101001 01011 1101101 11110011 11111111 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,515 |
Words | 287 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 190 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 47 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:26 min read
- 79 Views
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"Pan liveth" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13028/pan-liveth>.
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