Analysis of Under the Pines

Frederick George Scott 1861 (Montreal, Quebec) – 1944 (Quebec City, Quebec)



"LIFE is sad," says the wind in the pines
    To the still soul listening,
While the pale, pale day declines
    Like a white bird on the wing.
"Life is sad," says the quiet earth
5
    Under the churchyard wall,
Where the spring flowers have their birth
    And the autumn leaflets fall.
"Life is sad," say the daisies that blow there
    And stretch out their heads to the sun;
10
"Life is sad," say the poor hearts that go there
    To weep when the day's work is done.
"Life is sad," from below, from on high,
    From forest and meadow and tree,
From the clouds that drift over the sky
15
    And the days that die into the sea.
Then up and be brave with thy sorrow,
    Like a man with his face to the blast;
Not from hope of the joys of to-morrow,
    Nor rest when the warfare is past;
20

But strong that weak souls may grow strong,
    That men may take heart by the way,
Till the heavens break forth with the song
    That will herald eternal day.


Scheme ABABCDECEFGDFGHIHDIJKJKD LMLM
Poetic Form
Metre 111101001 1011100 1011101 1011101 11110101 1 10011 10110111 0010101 1111010111 01111101 1 1111011111 11101111 111101111 1100101 101111001 1 001110101 110111110 101111101 1111011110 1110111 1 11111111 11111101 101011101 11100101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 938
Words 187
Sentences 6
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 24, 4
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 348
Words per stanza (avg) 90
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

54 sec read
81

Frederick George Scott

Frederick George Scott was a Canadian poet and author, known as the Poet of the Laurentians. He is sometimes associated with Canada's Confederation Poets, a group that included Charles G. D. Roberts, Bliss Carman, Archibald Lampman, and Duncan Campbell Scott. Scott published 13 books of Christian and patriotic poetry. Scott was a British imperialist who wrote many hymns to the British Empire—eulogizing his country's roles in the Boer Wars and World War I. Many of his poems use the natural world symbolically to convey deeper spiritual meaning. Frederick George Scott was the father of poet F. R. Scott. more…

All Frederick George Scott poems | Frederick George Scott Books

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