Analysis of A Tombless Epitaph
Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1772 (Ottery St Mary) – 1834 (Highgate)
'Tis true, Idoloclastes Satyrane !
(So call him, for so mingling blame with praise,
And smiles with anxious looks, his earliest friends,
Masking his birth-name, wont to character
His wild-wood fancy and impetuous zeal,)
'Tis true that, passionate for ancient truths,
And honouring with religious love the Great
Of elder times, he hated to excess,
With an unquiet and intolerant scorn,
The hollow Puppets of an hollow Age,
Ever idolatrous, and changing ever
Its worthless Idols ! Learning, Power, and Time,
(Too much of all) thus wasting in vain war
Of fervid colloquy. Sickness, 'tis true,
Whole years of weary days, besieged him close,
Even to the gates and inlets of his life !
But it is true, no less, that strenuous, firm,
And with a natural gladness, he maintained
The citadel unconquered, and in joy
Was strong to follow the delightful Muse.
For not a hidden path, that to the shades
Of the beloved Parnassian forest leads,
Lurked undiscovered by him ; not a rill
There issues from the fount of Hippocrene,
But he had traced it upward to its source,
Through open glade, dark glen, and secret dell,
Knew the gay wild flowers on its banks, and culled
Its med'cinable herbs. Yea, oft alone,
Piercing the long-neglected holy cave,
The haunt obscure of old Philosophy,
He bade with lifted torch its starry walls
Sparkle, as erst they sparkled to the flame
Of odorous lamps tended by Saint and Sage.
O framed for calmer times and nobler hearts !
O studious Poet, eloquent for truth !
Philosopher ! contemning wealth and death,
Yet docile, childlike, full of Life and Love !
Here, rather than on monumental stone,
This record of thy worth thy Friend inscribes,
Thoughtful, with quiet tears upon his cheek.
Scheme | ABCDEFGHAIDJKLMNOPQRSTUAVWXAYZ1 2 I3 4 5 6 A7 8 |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1111 11111100111 01110111001 1011111100 1111000101 1111001101 011010101 110111011 111001001 0101011101 10010001010 11010101001 1111110011 1101001011 1111010111 1010101111 11111111001 0101001101 0101001 1111000101 1101011101 10011101 101011101 11010111 1111110111 1101110101 10111011101 1111101 1001010101 0101110100 1111011101 1011110101 11001101101 1111010101 11001010011 01001101 110111101 110110101 1011111101 1011010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,673 |
Words | 288 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 40 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,340 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 293 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 16, 2023
- 1:26 min read
- 107 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"A Tombless Epitaph" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/34222/a-tombless-epitaph>.
Discuss this Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In