Analysis of Sonnet On An Old Book With Uncut Leaves
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
Emblem of blasted hope and lost desire,
No finger ever traced thy yellow page
Save Time's. Thou hast not wrought to noble rage
The hearts thou wouldst have stirred. Not any fire
Save sad flames set to light a funeral pyre
Dost thou suggest. Nay,--impotent in age,
Unsought, thou holdst a corner of the stage
And ceasest even dumbly to aspire.
How different was the thought of him that writ.
What promised he to love of ease and wealth,
When men should read and kindle at his wit.
But here decay eats up the book by stealth,
While it, like some old maiden, solemnly,
Hugs its incongruous virginity!
Scheme | ABBAABBX CDCDEE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10110101010 1101011101 1111111101 01111111010 111111010010 1101110001 111010101 01101101 11001011111 1101111101 1111010111 1101110111 1111110100 1101000100 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 592 |
Words | 111 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 236 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 54 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 43 Views
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"Sonnet On An Old Book With Uncut Leaves" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28865/sonnet-on-an-old-book-with-uncut-leaves>.
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