Analysis of Ad Nepotem

Robert Louis Stevenson 1850 (Edinburgh) – 1894 (Vailima, Samoa)



O NEPOS, twice my neigh(b)our (since at home
We're door by door, by Flora's temple dome;
And in the country, still conjoined by fate,
Behold our villas standing gate by gate),
Thou hast a daughter, dearer far than life -
Thy image and the image of thy wife.
Thy image and thy wife's, and be it so!

But why for her, { neglect the flowing } can
                 { O Nepos, leave the }

And lose the prime of thy Falernian?
Hoard casks of money, if to hoard be thine;
But let thy daughter drink a younger wine!
Let her go rich and wise, in silk and fur;

Lay down a { bin that shall }  grow old with her;
           { vintage to }

But thou, meantime, the while the batch is sound,
With pleased companions pass the bowl around;
Nor let the childless only taste delights,
For Fathers also may enjoy their nights.


Scheme AABBCCX DX DEEF FX GGHH
Poetic Form
Metre 11111110111 111111101 000101111 01101010111 1101010111 1100010111 1100110111 1110010101 1110 0101111 1111011111 1111010101 1011010101 1101111110 101 111010111 1101010101 1101010101 1101010111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 795
Words 155
Sentences 6
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 7, 2, 4, 2, 4
Lines Amount 19
Letters per line (avg) 31
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 117
Words per stanza (avg) 31
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

47 sec read
48

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. more…

All Robert Louis Stevenson poems | Robert Louis Stevenson Books

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