Analysis of A Toast



See this bowl of purple wine,
Life-blood of the lusty vine!
All the warmth of summer suns
In the vintage liquid runs,
All the glow of winter nights
Plays about its jewel lights,
Thoughts of time when love was young
Lurk its ruby drops among,
And its deepest depths are dyed
With delight of friendship tried.
Worthy offering, I ween,
For a god or for a queen,
Is the draught I pour to thee,--
Comfort of all misery,
Single friend of the forlorn,
Haven of all beings born,
Hope when trouble wakes at night,
And when naught delights, delight.
Holy Death, I drink to thee;
Do not part my friends and me.
Take this gift, which for a night
Puts dull leaden care to flight,
Thou who takest grief away
For a night and for a day.


Scheme AABBCCDDEEAFGGHHIIGGIIJJ
Poetic Form
Metre 1111101 1110101 1011101 0010101 1011101 1011101 1111111 1110101 0110111 1011101 1010011 1011101 1011111 1011100 1011001 1011101 1110111 0110101 1011111 1111101 1111101 1110111 111101 1010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 728
Words 140
Sentences 6
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 24
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 559
Words per stanza (avg) 137
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 01, 2023

42 sec read
48

George Santayana

Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, known as George Santayana, was a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. more…

All George Santayana poems | George Santayana Books

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