Analysis of A Contented Mind
Joshua Sylvester 1563 (England) – 1618
I weigh not Fortune's frown or smile,
I joy not much in earthly joys;
I seek not state, I reck not style,
I am not fond of fancy's toys;
I rest so pleased with what I have,
I wish no more, no more I crave.
I quake not at the thunder's crack,
I tremble not at noise of war,
I swoon not at the news of wrack,
I shrink not at a blazing star:
I fear not loss, I hope not gain,
I envy none, I none disdain.
I see ambition never pleased,
I see some Tantals starved in store;
I see gold's dropsy seldom eased,
I see e'en Midas gape for more.
I neither want, nor yet abound:
Enough's a feast; content is crown'd.
I feign not friendship where I hate,
I fawn not on the great in show,
I prize, I praise a mean estate,
Neither too lofty nor too low;
This, this is all my choice, my cheer,
A mind content, a conscience clear.
Scheme | ABABCDEFEGHHIFIFJJKLKLMM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110111 11110101 11111111 1111111 11111111 11111111 1111011 11011111 11110111 11110101 11111111 11011101 11010101 1111101 11110101 111110111 11011101 01011011 11110111 11110101 11110101 10110111 11111111 01100101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 798 |
Words | 169 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 24 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 606 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 167 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 07, 2023
- 52 sec read
- 133 Views
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"A Contented Mind" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/24619/a-contented-mind>.
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