Analysis of L'Amitté Est L'Amour
George Gordon Lord Byron 1788 (London) – 1824 (Missolonghi, Aetolia)
Why should my anxious breast repine.
Because my youth is fled?
Days of delight may still be mine;
Affection is not dead.
In tracing back the years of youth,
One firm record, one lasting truth,
Celestial consolation brings;
Bear it, ye breezes, to the seat,
Where first my heart responsive beat,-
'Friendship is Love without his wings!'
Through few, but deeply chequer'd years,
What moments have been mine!
Now half obscured by clouds of tears,
Now bright in rays divine;
Howe'er my future doom be cast,
My soul, enraptured with the past,
To one idea fondly clings
Friendship! that thought is all thine own,
Worth worlds of bliss, that thought alone -
'Friendship is Love without his wings!'
Where yonder yew-trees lightly wave
Their branches on the gale,
Unheeded heaves a simple grave,
Which tells the common tale;
Round this unconscious schoolboys stray,
Till the dull knell of childish play
From yonder studious mansion rings;
But here whene'er my footsteps move,
My silent tears too plainly prove
'Friendship is Love without his wings!'
Oh, Love! before thy glowing shrine
My early vows were paid;
My hopes, my dreams, my heart was thine,
But these are now decay'd;
For thine are pinions like the wind,
No trace of thee remains behind,
Except, alas! thy Jealous stings.
Away, away! delusive power,
Thou shalt not haunt my coining hour;
Unless, indeed, without thy wings.
Seat of my youth! thy distant spire
Recalls each scene of joy;
My bosom glows with former fire,-
In mind again a boy.
Thy grove of elms thy verdant hill,
Thy eyery path delights me still,
Each flower a double fragrance flings;
Again, as once, in converse gay,
Each dear associate seems to say,
'Friendship is Love without his wings!'
My Lycus! wherefore dost thou weep?
Thy falling tears restrain;
Affection for a time may sleep,
But, oh, 'twill wake again.
Think, think, my friend, when next we meet
Our long-wish'd interview, how sweet!
From this my hope of rapture springs;
While youthful hearts thus fondly swell,
Absence, my friend, can only tell'
'Friendship is Love without his wings!'
In one, and one alone deceived,
Did I my error mourn?
No — from oppressive bonds relieved,
I left the wretch to scorn.
I turn'd to those my childhood knew,
With feelings warm, with bosoms true,
Twined with my heart's according strings;
And till those vital chords shall break,
For none but these my breast shall wake
Friendship the power deprived of wings!
Ye few! my soul, my life is yours,
My memory and my hope;
Your worth a lasting love insures,
Unfetter'd in its scope;
From smooth deceit and terror sprung
With aspect fair and honey'd tongue,
Let Adulation wait on kings;
With joy elate, by snares beset,
We we, my friends, can ne'er forget
'Friendship is Love without his wings!'
Fictions and dreams inspire the bard
Who rolls the epic song;
Friendship and truth be my reward -
To me no bays belong-
If laurell'd Fame but dwells with lies,
Me the enchantress ever flies,
Whose heart and not whose fancy sings;
Simple and young, I dare not feign;
Mine be the rude yet heartfelt strain,
'Friendship is Love without his wings!
Scheme | ababccdeeD xaxaffdaaD ghghiidjjD akaklldmmd xnmnoodiiD papaeedqqD raraaxdssd tutuvvdwwD xxxxyydaaD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (30%) Etheree (24%) |
Metre | 1111011 011111 11011111 010111 01010111 11011101 0100101 11110101 11110101 10110111 1111011 110111 11011111 110101 10110111 11010101 11010101 10111111 11111101 10110111 11011101 110101 01010101 110101 111011 10111101 110100101 111111 11011101 10110111 11011101 110101 11111111 111101 1111101 11110101 01011101 0101110 111111010 01010111 11111101 11111 110111010 010101 11111101 1110111 110010101 01110101 110100111 10110111 111111 110101 01010111 111101 11111111 10111011 11111101 11011101 10111101 10110111 01010101 111101 11010101 110111 1111111 1101111 11110101 01110111 11111111 100100111 11111111 1100011 11010101 010011 11010101 111011 1010111 11011101 11111101 10110111 10010101 110101 10011101 111101 1111111 101101 11011101 10011111 1101111 10110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 3,083 |
Words | 546 |
Sentences | 28 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 |
Lines Amount | 90 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 269 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 59 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:45 min read
- 231 Views
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"L'Amitté Est L'Amour" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15125/l%27amitt%C3%A9-est-l%27amour>.
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