Analysis of To A Friend, With An Unfinished Poem
Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1772 (Ottery St Mary) – 1834 (Highgate)
Thus far my scanty brain hath built the rhyme
Elaborate and swelling; yet the heart
Not owns it. From thy spirit-breathing powers
I ask not now, my friend! the aiding verse
Tedious to thee, and from thy anxious thought
Of dissonant mood. In fancy (well I know)
From business wand'ring far and local cares,
Thou creepest round a dear-loved sister's bed
With noiseless step, and watchest the faint look,
Soothing each pang with fond solicitude,
And tenderest tones medicinal of love.
I, too, a sister had, an only sister --
She loved me dearly, and I doted on her;
To her I pour'd forth all my puny sorrows;
(As a sick patient in a nurse's arms,)
And of the heart those hidden maladies
That e'en from friendship's eye will shrink ashamed.
O! I have waked at midnight, and have wept
Because she was not! Cheerily, dear Charles!
Thou thy best friend shalt cherish many a year;
Such warm presages feel I of high hope!
For not uninterested the dear maid
I've view'd her soul affectionate yet wise,
Her polish'd wit as mild as lambent glories
That play around a sainted infant's head.
He knows (the Spirit that in secret sees,
Of whose omniscient and all-spreading love
Aught to implore were impotence of mind!)
That my mute thoughts are sad before his throne,
Prepared, when He his healing ray vouchsafes,
Thanksgiving to pour forth with lifted heart,
And praise him gracious with a brother's joy!
Scheme | ABCDEFGHIJKLLMNOPQRSTUVOHOKWXCBY |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111011101 010010101 11111101010 1111110101 10011011101 11001010111 1101110101 111011101 11101011 101111010 011010011 11010111010 1111001110 10111111010 1011000101 0101110100 1111111101 111111011 01111111 11111101001 1110011111 110100011 1101010011 0101111110 1101010101 1101010101 1101001101 1101010011 1111110111 011111011 101111101 0111010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,392 |
Words | 255 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 32 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,091 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 249 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 11, 2023
- 1:19 min read
- 174 Views
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"To A Friend, With An Unfinished Poem" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/34377/to-a-friend%2C-with-an-unfinished-poem>.
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