Analysis of Death

James Henry Leigh Hunt 1784 (Southgate, London) – 1859



Death is a road our dearest friends have gone;
Why with such leaders, fear to say, "Lead on?"
Its gate repels, lest it too soon be tried,
But turns in balm on the immortal side.
Mothers have passed it: fathers, children; men
Whose like we look not to behold again;
Women that smiled away their loving breath;
Soft is the travelling on the road to death!
But guilt has passed it? men not fit to die?
O, hush -- for He that made us all is by!
Human we're all -- all men, all born of mothers;
All our own selves in the worn-out shape of others;
Our used, and oh, be sure, not to be ill-used brothers!


Scheme ABCCDDEEFFGGG
Poetic Form
Metre 11011010111 1111011111 1101111111 1101100101 1011110101 1111110101 1011011101 11010010111 1111111111 1111111111 10111111110 1101100111110 10101111111110
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 593
Words 121
Sentences 8
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 13
Lines Amount 13
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 447
Words per stanza (avg) 118
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 20, 2023

36 sec read
146

James Henry Leigh Hunt

James Henry Leigh Hunt, best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist, poet and writer. more…

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