Analysis of Ode XI: On Love, To A Friend
Mark Akenside 1721 (Newcastle upon Tyne) – 1770
I.
No, foolish youth—To virtuous fame
If now thy early hopes be vow'd,
If true ambition's nobler flame
Command thy footsteps from the croud,
Lean not to love's inchanting snare;
His songs, his words, his looks beware,
Nor join his votaries, the young and fair.
II.
By thought, by dangers, and by toils,
The wreath of just renown is worn;
Nor will ambition's awful spoils
The flowery pomp of ease adorn:
But love unbends the force of thought;
By love unmanly fears are taught;
And love's reward with gaudy sloth is bought.
III.
Yet thou hast read in tuneful lays,
And heard from many a zealous breast,
The pleasing tale of beauty's praise
In wisdom's lofty language dress'd;
Of beauty powerful to impart
Each finer sense, each comelier art,
And sooth and polish man's ungentle heart.
IV.
If then, from love's deceit secure,
Thus far alone thy wishes tend,
Go; see the white-wing'd evening hour
On Delia's vernal walk descend:
Go, while the golden light serene,
The grove, the lawn, the soften'd scene
Becomes the presence of the rural queen.
V.
Attend, while that harmonious tongue
Each bosom, each desire commands:
Apollo's lute by Hermes strung
And touch'd by chaste Minerva's hands,
Attend. I feel a force divine,
O Delia, win my thoughts to thine;
That half the color of thy life is mine.
VI.
Yet conscious of the dangerous charm,
Soon would i turn my steps away;
Nor oft provoke the lovely harm,
Nor lull my reason's watchful sway.
But thou, my friend—i hear thy sighs:
Alass, i read thy downcast eyes;
And thy tongue falters; and thy color flies.
VII.
So soon again to meet the fair?
So pensive all this absent hour?
—O yet, unlucky youth, beware,
While yet to think is in thy power.
In vain with friendship's flattering name
Thy passion veils its inward shame;
Friendship, the treacherous fuel of thy flame!
VIII.
Once, I remember, new to love,
And dreading his tyrannic chain,
I sought a gentle maid to prove
What peaceful joys in friendship reign:
Whence we forsooth might safely stand,
And pitying view the lovesick band,
And mock the winged boy's malicious hand.
IX.
Thus frequent pass'd the cloudless day,
To smiles and sweet discourse resign'd;
While i exulted to survey
One generous woman's real mind:
Till friendship soon my languid breast
Each night with unknown cares possess'd,
Dash'd my coy slumbers, or my dreams distress'd.
X.
Fool that i was—And now, even now
While thus i preach the Stoic strain,
Unless i shun Olympia's view,
An hour unsays it all again.
O friend!—when love directs her eyes
To pierce where every passion lies,
Where is the firm, the cautious, or the wise?
Scheme | ABCBCDDD AEFEFGGX AHIHIJJJ KXLMLNNN KOPOPQQQ ARSRSTTT KDMDMBBB KKUKUVVV ESWKWIII XXUKXTTT |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (26%) Etheree (26%) |
Metre | 1 110111001 11110111 111101 0111101 111111 11111101 11110101 1 11110011 01110111 111101 010011101 1110111 111111 0101110111 1 11110101 011100101 0101111 0110101 110100101 1101111 01010111 1 11110101 11011101 110111010 1110101 11010101 01010101 0101010101 1 011101001 110101001 01011101 011111 01110101 11011111 1101011111 1 110101001 11111101 11010101 1111101 11111111 111111 0111001101 1 11011101 110111010 11010101 111110110 01111001 11011101 10010010111 1 11010111 010111 11010111 11010101 1111101 01001011 010110101 1 11010101 11011001 11010101 11001011 11011101 11101101 111111101 1 111101101 11110101 011101001 11011101 11110101 111100101 1101010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,535 |
Words | 454 |
Sentences | 28 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 80 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 202 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 45 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:24 min read
- 76 Views
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"Ode XI: On Love, To A Friend" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/26523/ode-xi%3A-on-love%2C-to-a-friend>.
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