Analysis of On this Day I Complete my Thirty-Sixth Year
George Gordon Lord Byron 1788 (London) – 1824 (Missolonghi, Aetolia)
'Tis time the heart should be unmoved,
Since others it hath ceased to move:
Yet, though I cannot be beloved,
Still let me love!
My days are in the yellow leaf;
The flowers and fruits of love are gone;
The worm, the canker, and the grief
Are mine alone!
The fire that on my bosom preys
Is lone as some volcanic isle;
No torch is kindled at its blaze--
A funeral pile.
The hope, the fear, the jealous care,
The exalted portion of the pain
And power of love, I cannot share,
But wear the chain.
But 'tis not thus--and 'tis not here--
Such thoughts should shake my soul nor now,
Where glory decks the hero's bier,
Or binds his brow.
The sword, the banner, and the field,
Glory and Greece, around me see!
The Spartan, borne upon his shield,
Was not more free.
Awake! (not Greece--she is awake!)
Awake, my spirit! Think through whom
Thy life-blood tracks its parent lake,
And then strike home!
Tread those reviving passions down,
Unworthy manhood!--unto thee
Indifferent should the smile or frown
Of beauty be.
If thou regrett'st thy youth, why live?
The land of honourable death
Is here:--up to the field, and give
Away thy breath!
Seek out--less often sought than found--
A soldier's grave, for thee the best;
Then look around, and choose thy ground,
And take thy rest.
Scheme | XXXX AXAX BCBC DEDE FGFG HIHI JXJX KIKI XLXL MNMN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (70%) Etheree (30%) Tetractys (28%) |
Metre | 11011101 11011111 11110101 1111 11100101 010011111 01010001 1101 010111101 11110101 11110111 01001 01010101 001010101 010111101 1101 11110111 11111111 11010101 1111 01010001 10010111 01010111 1111 01111101 01110111 11111101 0111 11010101 0101101 01010111 1101 1111111 01111 11110101 0111 11110111 01011101 11010111 0111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,457 |
Words | 233 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 97 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 1:10 min read
- 179 Views
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"On this Day I Complete my Thirty-Sixth Year" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15178/on-this-day-i-complete-my-thirty-sixth-year>.
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