Analysis of Enquiry After Peace
Anne Kingsmill Finch 1661 – 1720 (Westminster)
PEACE! where art thou to be found?
Where, in all the spacious Round,
May thy Footsteps be pursu'd?
Where may thy calm Seats be view'd?
On some Mountain dost thou lie,
Serenely near the ambient Sky,
Smiling at the Clouds below,
Where rough Storms and Tempests grow?
Or, in some retired Plain,
Undisturb'd dost thou remain?
Where no angry Whirlwinds pass,
Where no Floods oppress the Grass.
High above, or deep below,
Fain I thy Retreat wou'd know.
Fain I thee alone wou'd find,
Balm to my o'er-weary'd Mind.
Since what here the World enjoys,
Or our Passions most employs,
Peace opposes, or destroys.
Pleasure's a tumultuous thing,
Busy still, and still on Wing;
Flying swift, from place to place,
Darting from each beauteous Face;
From each strongly mingled Bowl
Through th'inflam'd and restless Soul.
Sov'reign Pow'r who fondly craves,
But himself to Pomp enslaves;
Stands the Envy of Mankind,
Peace, in vain, attempts to find.
Thirst of Wealth no Quiet knows,
But near the Death-bed fiercer grows;
Wounding Men with secret Stings,
For Evils it on Others brings.
War who not discreetly shuns,
Thorough Life the Gauntlet runs.
Swords, and Pikes, and Waves, and Flames,
Each their Stroke against him aims.
Love (if such a thing there be)
Is all Despair, or Extasie.
Poetry's the feav'rish Fit,
Th' o'erflowing of unbounded Wit.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFF DDGGHHHIIJJKKXFGGLLMMNNOOXFPP |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111111 1010101 111101 1111111 1110111 0100101001 1010101 111011 101011 011101 111011 1110101 1011101 1110111 1110111 1111011 1110101 11010101 1010101 101001 1010111 1011111 101111 1110101 111010101 1111101 101111 1010111 1010111 1111101 11011101 1011101 11011101 1110101 1010101 1010101 1110111 1110111 110111 1011 11110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,333 |
Words | 225 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 29 |
Lines Amount | 41 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 516 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 112 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:12 min read
- 124 Views
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