Analysis of On Fame
John Keats 1795 (Moorgate) – 1821 (Rome)
Fame, like a wayward girl, will still be coy
To those who woo her with too slavish knees,
But makes surrender to some thoughtless boy,
And dotes the more upon a heart at ease;
She is a Gipsey,--will not speak to those
Who have not learnt to be content without her;
A Jilt, whose ear was never whisper'd close,
Who thinks they scandal her who talk about her;
A very Gipsey is she, Nilus-born,
Sister-in-law to jealous Potiphar;
Ye love-sick Bards! repay her scorn for scorn;
Ye Artists lovelorn! madmen that ye are!
Make your best bow to her and bid adieu,
Then, if she likes it, she will follow you.
"You cannot eat your cake and have it too."--Proverb.
How fever'd is the man, who cannot look
Upon his mortal days with temperate blood,
Who vexes all the leaves of his life's book,
And robs his fair name of its maidenhood;
It is as if the rose should pluck herself,
On the ripe plum finger its misty bloom,
As if a Naiad, like a meddling elf,
Should darken her pure grot with muddy gloom:
But the rose leaves herself upon the briar,
For winds to kiss and grateful bees to feed,
And the ripe plum still wears its dim attire,
The undisturbed lake has crystal space;
Why then should man, teasing the world for grace,
Spoil his salvation for a fierce miscreed?
Scheme | ABABXCXCDCDXEE X FXFEGHGHCXCIIE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101011111 1111011101 1101011101 0101010111 110111111 11111110010 0111110101 11110011010 01011111 10011101 1111010111 110110111 1111100101 1111111101 110111011110 1101011101 0111011101 111011111 01111111 1111011101 1011101101 1101101001 1100111101 10110101010 1111010111 00111111010 00111101 1111100111 110101011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,242 |
Words | 239 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 14, 1, 14 |
Lines Amount | 29 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 324 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 78 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 25, 2023
- 1:12 min read
- 256 Views
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"On Fame" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23414/on-fame>.
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