Analysis of I said to Love

Thomas Hardy 1840 (Stinsford) – 1928 (Dorchester, Dorset)



I said to Love,
"It is not now as in old days
When men adored thee and thy ways
All else above;
Named thee the Boy, the Bright, the One
Who spread a heaven beneath the sun,"
I said to Love.

I said to him,
"We now know more of thee than then;
We were but weak in judgment when,
With hearts abrim,
We clamoured thee that thou would'st please
Inflict on us thine agonies,"
I said to him.

I said to Love,
"Thou art not young, thou art not fair,
No elfin darts, no cherub air,
Nor swan, nor dove
Are thine; but features pitiless,
And iron daggers of distress,"
I said to Love.

"Depart then, Love!
Man's race shall perish, threatenest thou,
WIthout thy kindling coupling-vow?
The age to come the man of now
Know nothing of?
We fear not such a threat from thee;
We are too old in apathy!
Mankind shall cease.. -
So let it be,"
I said to Love.


Scheme AbbaccA DeedffD AggaxxA ahhhaiixiA
Poetic Form
Metre 1111 11111011 11011011 1101 11010101 110100101 1111 1111 11111111 10110101 111 11111111 01111100 1111 1111 11111111 11011101 1111 11110100 01010101 1111 0111 1111011 01110101 01110111 1101 11110111 11110100 1111 1111 1111
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 814
Words 171
Sentences 10
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 7, 7, 7, 10
Lines Amount 31
Letters per line (avg) 20
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 156
Words per stanza (avg) 41
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

50 sec read
425

Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy, was not a Scottish Minister, not a Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland nor a Professor of Eccesiastical History at Edinburgh University. more…

All Thomas Hardy poems | Thomas Hardy Books

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