Analysis of Be Angry At The Sun

Robinson Jeffers 1887 (Allegheny) – 1962 (Carmel-by-the-Sea)



That public men publish falsehoods
Is nothing new. That America must accept
Like the historical republics corruption and empire
Has been known for years.

Be angry at the sun for setting
If these things anger you. Watch the wheel slope and turn,
They are all bound on the wheel, these people, those warriors.
This republic, Europe, Asia.

Observe them gesticulating,
Observe them going down. The gang serves lies, the passionate
Man plays his part; the cold passion for truth
Hunts in no pack.

You are not Catullus, you know,
To lampoon these crude sketches of Caesar. You are far
From Dante's feet, but even farther from his dirty
Political hatreds.

Let boys want pleasure, and men
Struggle for power, and women perhaps for fame,
And the servile to serve a Leader and the dupes to be duped.
Yours is not theirs.


Scheme XXXX AXXX AXXX XXXX XXXX
Poetic Form Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 1101101 110110100101 1001000100100100 11111 110101110 111101101101 11111011101100 10101010 0111 01110101110100 1111011011 1011 111111 1011110110111 1101110101110 010010 1111001 101100100111 001011010001111 1111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 820
Words 145
Sentences 13
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 129
Words per stanza (avg) 28
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 25, 2023

43 sec read
242

Robinson Jeffers

John Robinson Jeffers was an American poet, known for his work about the central California coast. more…

All Robinson Jeffers poems | Robinson Jeffers Books

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