Analysis of A Lament
Franklin P. Adams 1881 (Chicago, Illinois) – 1960 (New York City, New York)
Horace: Book II, Elegy 8
"Eripitur nobis iam pridem cara puella---"
While she I loved is being torn
From arms that held her many years,
Dost thou regard me, friend, with scorn,
Or seek to check my tears?
Bitter the hatred for a jilt,
And hot the hates of Eros are;
My hatred, slay me as thou wilt,
For thee'd be gentler far.
Can I endure that she recline
Upon another's arm? Shall they
No longer call that lady "mine"
Who "mine" was yesterday?
For Love is fleeting as the hours.
The town of Thebes is draped with moss,
And Ilium's well-known topless towers
Are now a total loss.
Fell Thebes and Troy; and in the grave
Have fallen lords of high degree.
What songs I sang! What gifts I gave!
. . . . She never fell for me.
Scheme | A X BXBX CDCD EFEF GHGH IAIA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011100 11011101 11111101 11110101 11011111 111111 10010101 01011101 11011111 111101 11011101 01010111 11011101 11110 111101010 01111111 01111010 110101 11010001 11011101 11111111 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 722 |
Words | 138 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 22 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 77 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 20 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 101 Views
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