Analysis of The Song Of Life
George Essex Evans 1863 (London) – 1909 (Toowoomba)
Sing not of Rest
For heart, or brain, or the strong soul’s emotion
Beneath the shadow of Eternal peace!
There is no rest in Nature or surcease
Of Law, and Labour, in unceasing motion.
Sing not of Rest!
Sing not of Peace
On earth, or in the realms beyond our dreaming!
Progress and Retrogression all things draw
Within the edict of Eternal Law.
Search for the Real which lies beneath the Seeming.
Sing not of Peace
Sing thou of Toil,
Of toil that moulds to-day the larger morrow!
Move with stout heart on Life’s great battle-field
And wear the motto “Progress” on thy shield.
All that is best is won through toil and sorrow.
Sing thou of Toil!
Sing thou of Hope!
Of Hope that lights the world to strong endeavour!
Height beyond height but loftier summits show,
Depth beneath depth reveals a depth below.
Choose thou the best. There is no resting ever.
Sing thou of Hope!
Sing thou of Truth!
That which alone can stand when all is sifted;
That which Humanity in pain and tears
Has sought with patient toil through myriad years,
Till thou shalt see with radiant face uplifted
Eternal Truth.
Scheme | AbccbACdeedC FghhgF IjggjI klxxlk |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (33%) Etheree (20%) |
Metre | 1111 11111011010 010110101 111101011 1101001010 1111 1111 111001011010 101111 0101010101 11011101010 1111 1111 11111101010 1111111101 010101111 11111111010 1111 1111 11110111010 10111100101 1011010101 11011111010 1111 1111 11011111110 1101000101 11110111001 111111001100 0101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,078 |
Words | 198 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 215 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 49 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 59 sec read
- 101 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Song Of Life" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/14987/the-song-of-life>.
Discuss this George Essex Evans poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In