Analysis of A Pastoral Entertainment
James Thomson 1700 (Port Glasgow) – 1748 (London)
While in heroic numbers some relate
The amazing turns of wise eternal fate;
Exploits of heroes in the dusty field,
That to their name immortal honour yield;
Grant me, ye powers, by the limpid spring
The harmless of the plain to sing,
A wreath of flowers cull'd from the
Is all the my humble muse demands.
Now blithsome shepherds, by the early dawn,
Their new shorn flocks drive to the dewy lawn;
While, in a bleating language, each salutes
The welcome morning and their fellow brutes:
Then all prepared for the rural feast,
And in their finest Sunday habits drest;
The crystal brook supplied the mirror's place,
They bathed and viewed their cleanly face,
And nymphs resorted to the fields
Pomp the country yields.
The place appointed was a spacious vale,
Fann'd always by a cooling western gale,
Which in soft breezes through the meadows stray,
And steals the ripened fragrancies away;
Here every shepherd might his flocks survey,
Securely roam and take his harmless play;
And here were flowers each shepherdess to grace,
On her fair bosom courting but a place.
How in this vale, beneath a grateful shade,
By twining boughs of spreading made,
On seats of homely turf themselves they place,
And cheerfully enjoyed the rural feast,
Consisting of the produce of the fields,
And all the luxury the country yields.
No maddening liquors spoil'd their harmless mirth,
But an untainted spring their thirst allayed,
Which in meadows through the valley strayed.
Thrice happy swains who spend your golden days
In pastime; and when night displays
Her sable shade, to peaceful huts retire;
Can any man a sweeter bliss desire?
In ancient times so pass'd the smiling hour,
When our first parents lived in Eden's bower,
E'er care and trouble were pronounced,
Or sin had blasted the creation.
Scheme | AABBCCDEFFGEHAIIJJKKLLLLIIMMIHJJNMMOOPQQQRS |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1001010101 00101110101 111000101 111101011 111101011 01010111 01110110 110110101 111010101 1111110101 100110101 0101001101 110110101 001101101 0101010101 11011101 01010101 10101 0101010101 111010101 101101011 01010101 11001011101 0101011101 010101111 1011010101 1011010101 11011101 1111010111 0100010101 0101001101 0101000101 11001011101 1101011101 10110101 1101111101 0101101 0101110101 11010101010 01011101010 11011010110 101010001 111100010 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,783 |
Words | 303 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 43 |
Lines Amount | 43 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,424 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 301 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:33 min read
- 111 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"A Pastoral Entertainment" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20554/a-pastoral-entertainment>.
Discuss this James Thomson poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In