Analysis of Life a Cheat
John Dryden 1631 (Aldwincle) – 1631 (London)
When I consider life, 'tis all a cheat;
Yet, fooled with hope, men favour the deceit;
Trust on, and think to-morrow will repay:
To-morrow's falser than the former day;
Lies worse; and while it says, we shall be blessed
With some new joys, cuts off what we possessed.
Strange cozenage! none would live past years again,
Yet all hope pleasure in what yet remain;
And, from the dregs of life, think to receive
What the first sprightly running could not give.
I'm tired with waiting for this chemic gold,
Which fools us young, and beggars us when old.
Scheme | AABBCCDEFGHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101011101 111111001 1101110101 11110101 1101111111 1111111101 111111101 1111001101 0101111101 1011010111 1101101111 1111010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 544 |
Words | 100 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 12 |
Lines Amount | 12 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 424 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 98 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 22, 2023
- 30 sec read
- 403 Views
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"Life a Cheat" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22673/life-a-cheat>.
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