Analysis of A Summer Noon
James Thomson 1700 (Port Glasgow) – 1748 (London)
'Tis raging noon; and, vertical, the sun
Darts on the head direct his forceful rays.
O'er heaven and earth, far as the ranging eye
Can sweep, a dazzling deluge reigns; and all
From pole to pole is undistinguish'd blaze.
In vain the sight, dejected, to the ground
Stoops for relief; thence hot ascending steams
And keen reflection pain. Deep to the root
Of vegetation parch'd, the cleaving fields
And slippery lawn an arid hue disclose,
Blast fancy's bloom, and wither even the soul.
Echo no more returns the cheerful sound
Of sharpening scythe: the mower sinking, heaps
O'er him the humid hay, with flowers perfumed;
And scarce a chirping grasshopper is heard
Through the dumb mead. Distressful nature pants.
The very streams look languid from afar:
Or, through th' unshelter'd glad, impatient, seem
To hurl into the covert of the grove.
All-conquering heat, oh, intermit thy wrath,
And on my throbbing temples potent thus
Beam not so fierce! incessant still you flow,
And still another fervent flood succeeds,
Pour'd on the head profuse. In vain I sigh,
And restless turn, and look around for night;
Night is far off, and hotter hours approach.
Thrice happy he! who on the sunless side
Of a romantic mountain, forest-crown'd,
Beneath the whole collected shade reclines:
Or in the gelid caverns, woodbine-wrought,
And fresh bedew'd with ever sprouting streams,
Sits coolly calm; while all the world without,
Unsatisfied and sick, tosses in noon.
Emblem instructive of the virtuous ma,
Who keeps his temper'd mind serene and pure
And every passion aptly harmonised,
Amid a jarring world with vice inflamed.
Scheme | ABCDBEFGHIJEKLMNOPQRSTUCVWXEYZF1 2 3 4 E5 |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101010001 1101011101 101001110101 11010010101 111110101 0101010101 1101110101 0101011101 10101011 01001110101 1110101001 1011010101 11001010101 101010111001 010101011 10111101 0101110101 1111110101 1101010101 110011111 0111010101 1111010111 0101010101 1101010111 0101010111 11110101001 110111011 1001010101 0101010101 10011011 011110101 1101110101 010011001 10010101001 1111010101 010010101 0101011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,579 |
Words | 267 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 37 |
Lines Amount | 37 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,273 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 265 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:23 min read
- 106 Views
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"A Summer Noon" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20557/a-summer-noon>.
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