Analysis of Belated Bard
The songs I made from joy of earth
In wanton wandering,
Are rapturous with Maytime mirth
And ectasy of Spring.
But all the songs I sing today
Take tediously the ear:
Novemberishly dark are they
With mortuary fear.
For half a century has gone
Since first I rang a rhyme;
And that is long to linger on
The tolerance of Time.
This blue-veined hand with which I write
Yet answers to my will;
Though four-score years I count to-night
I am unsilent still.
"Senile old fool!" I hear you say;
"Beside the dying fire
You huddle and stiff-fingered play
Your tired and tinny lyre."
Well, though your patience I may try,
Bear with me yet awhile,
And though you scorn my singing I
Will thank you with a smile.
For I such soul-delighting joy
Have found in simple rhyme,
Since first a happy-hearted boy
I coaxed a word to chime,
That ere I tryst with Mother Earth
Let from my heart arise
A song of youth and starry mirth . . .
Then close my eyes.
Scheme | ABABCXCX XDXDEFEF CXCXGHGH IDIDAJAJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01111111 010100 1100111 0111 11011101 1100001 1111 11001 11010011 111101 01111101 010011 11111111 110111 11111111 1111 1111111 0101010 11001101 1100101 11110111 111101 01111101 111101 11110101 110101 11010101 110111 11111101 111101 01110101 1111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,061 |
Words | 177 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 181 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 44 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 52 sec read
- 64 Views
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"Belated Bard" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32008/belated-bard>.
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