Analysis of Epitaph on her Son H. P.



WHat on Earth deserves our trust ?
  Youth and Beauty both are dust.
  Long we gathering are with pain,
  What one moment calls again.
  Seven years childless, marriage past,
  A Son, a son is born at last :
  So exactly lim'd and fair.
  Full of good Spirits, Meen, and Air,
  As a long life promised,
Yet, in less than six weeks dead.
Too promising, too great a mind
In so small room to be confin'd :
Therefore, as fit in Heav'n to dwell,
He quickly broke the Prison shell.
So the subtle Alchimist,
Can't with Hermes Seal resist
The powerful spirit's subtler flight,
But t'will bid him long good night.
And so the Sun if it arise
Half so glorious as his Eyes,
Like this Infant, takes a shrowd,
Buried in a morning Cloud.


Scheme AABCDDEEAFGGHHAIJJKKAL
Poetic Form
Metre 11101101 1010111 11100111 1110101 10110101 01011111 1010101 11110101 101110 1011111 11001101 01111101 1110111 11010101 10101 1110101 0100101001 11111111 01011101 11100111 1110101 1000101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 709
Words 133
Sentences 9
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 22
Lines Amount 22
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 540
Words per stanza (avg) 134
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 13, 2023

41 sec read
151

Katherine Philips

Katherine Philips was an Anglo-Welsh poet, translator, and woman of letters. more…

All Katherine Philips poems | Katherine Philips Books

1 fan

Discuss this Katherine Philips poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Epitaph on her Son H. P." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/25169/epitaph-on-her-son-h.-p.>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    9
    hours
    41
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    From which London landmark did Wordsworth celebrate the view in his poem beginning: "Earth has not any thing to show more fair..."
    A Westminster Bridge
    B Waterloo Sunset
    C Hampstead Heath
    D The Tower of London