Analysis of Well! Thou Art Happy
George Gordon Lord Byron 1788 (London) – 1824 (Missolonghi, Aetolia)
Well! thou art happy, and I feel
That I should thus be happy too;
For still my heart regards thy weal
Warmly, as it was wont to do.
Thy husband's blest — and 'twill impart
Some pangs to view his happier lot:
But let them pass — Oh! how my heart
Would hate him if he loved thee not!
When late I saw thy favourite child,
I thought my jealous heart would break;
But when the unconscious infant smiled,
I kiss'd it for its mother's sake.
I kiss'd it, — and repress'd my sighs
Its father in its face to see;
But then it had its mother's eyes,
And they were all to love and me.
Mary, adieu! I must away:
While thou art blest I'll not repine;
But near thee I can never stay;
y~ heart would soon again be thine.
I deem'd that time, I deem'd that pride,
Had quench'd at length my boyish flame;
Nor knew, till seated by thy side
My heart in all, — save hope,— the same.
Yet was I calm: I knew the time
My breast would thrill before thy look;
But now to tremble were a crime
We met, — and not a nerve was shook.
I saw thee gaze upon my face,
Yet meet with no confusion there:
One only feeling could'st thou trace;
The sullen calmness of despair.
Away! away! my early dream
Remembrance never must awake:
Oh! where is Lethe's fabled stream?
My foolish heart, be still, or break.
November 2, 1808
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ KLKL MNMN OPOP QFQF X |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110011 11111101 11110111 10111111 11010101 111111001 11111111 11111111 1111111 11110111 11010101 11111101 11100111 11001111 11111101 01011101 10011101 1111111 11111101 11110111 11111111 11111101 11110111 11011101 11111101 11110111 11110001 11010111 11110111 11110101 110101111 01010101 01011101 01010101 1111101 11011111 010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,300 |
Words | 256 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 1 |
Lines Amount | 37 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 96 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 1:20 min read
- 185 Views
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