Analysis of The Pastime of Pleasure
Stephen Hawes 1502 – 1523
The good Dame Mercy with Dame Charyte
My body buryed full ryght humbly
In a fayre temple of olde antyquyte,
Where was for me a dyryge devoutely
And with many a masse full ryght solempnely;
And over my grave, to be in memory,
Remembraunce made this lytell epytaphy:
"O erthe, on erthe it is a wonders cace
That thou arte blynde and wyll not the knowe.
Though upon erthe thou hast thy dwellynge-place,
Yet erthe at laste must nedes the overthrowe.
Thou thynkest the to be none erthe I trowe;
For yf thou dydest, thou woldest than apply
To forsake pleasure and to lerne to dy.
"O erthe, of erthe why arte thou so proude?
Now what thou arte call to remembraunce.
Open thyn eres unto my songe aloude.
Is not thy beauté, strength, and puyssaunce,
Though it be cladde with cloth{.e}s of plesaunce,
Very erthe and also worm{.e}s fode,
Whan erthe to erthe shall so tourne the blode?
...
"The vyle carkes set upon a fyre
Dooth often haunte the synne of lechery,
Fulfyllynge the foule carnall desyre.
Thus erthe with erthe is corrupte mervaylously;
And erthe on erthe wyll nothynge puryfye
Tyll erthe to erthe be nere subverted.
For erthe with erthe is so perverted.
"O mortall folke! you may beholde and se
Howe I lye here, sometyme a myghty knyght;
The end of joye and all prosperyte
Is dethe at last, through his course and myght;
After the day there cometh the derke night;
For though the day be never so longe,
At last the belles ryngeth to evensonge.
"And my selfe called La Graunde Amoure,
Sekynge adventure in the worldly glory,
For to attayne the ryches and honoure,
Did thynke full lytell that I sholde here ly,
Tyll dethe dyde marke me full ryght pryvely.
Lo what I am! and whereto you must!
Lyke as I am so shall you be all dust.
"Than in your mynde inwardely dyspyse
The bryttle worlde, so full of doublenes,
With the vyle flesshe, and ryght sone aryse
Out of your slepe of mortall hevynes;
Subdue the devill with grace and mekenes,
That after your lyfe frayle and transytory,
You may then lyve in joye perdurably."
Scheme | ABABBBX CDCDDEA ACACCAA FFFBXAA CAAAAGG FBFEBAA CCCCCFB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01110111 11011110 00110111 1111011 011001111 01011110100 11111 1111110101 111101101 101111111 11111101 110111111 111111101 1011001111 111111111 1111111 101110111 1111101 1111111111 1010101111 111111101 1 01110101 11010111 10111 1111111 0111111 111111010 111111010 11111101 11111011 0111011 111111101 1001110011 110111011 1101111 0111111 1010001010 1110101 111111111 11111111 11110111 1111111111 101111 0111111 10110111 1111111 01011101 11011101 1111011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,099 |
Words | 370 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 7, 15, 7, 7, 7 |
Lines Amount | 50 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 264 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 61 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:50 min read
- 90 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Pastime of Pleasure" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/35773/the-pastime-of-pleasure>.
Discuss this Stephen Hawes 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