Analysis of Regret
Victor Marie Hugo 1802 (Besançon) – 1885 (Paris)
Yes, Happiness hath left me soon behind!
Alas! we all pursue its steps! and when
We've sunk to rest within its arms entwined,
Like the Phoenician virgin, wake, and find
Ourselves alone again.
Then, through the distant future's boundless space,
We seek the lost companion of our days:
'Return, return!' we cry, and lo, apace
Pleasure appears! but not to fill the place
Of that we mourn always.
I, should unhallowed Pleasure woo me now,
Will to the wanton sorc'ress say, 'Begone!
Respect the cypress on my mournful brow,
Lost Happiness hath left regret--but _thou_
Leavest remorse, alone.'
Yet, haply lest I check the mounting fire,
O friends, that in your revelry appears!
With you I'll breathe the air which ye respire,
And, smiling, hide my melancholy lyre
When it is wet with tears.
Each in his secret heart perchance doth own
Some fond regret 'neath passing smiles concealed;--
Sufferers alike together and alone
Are we; with many a grief to others known,
How many unrevealed!
Alas! for natural tears and simple pains,
For tender recollections, cherished long,
For guileless griefs, which no compunction stains,
We blush; as if we wore these earthly chains
Only for sport and song!
Yes, my blest hours have fled without a trace:
In vain I strove their parting to delay;
Brightly they beamed, then left a cheerless space,
Like an o'erclouded smile, that in the face
Lightens, and fades away.
Scheme | ABAAB CDCCD EBEXF GXGXX FXFFA HIHHI CJCCJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1100111101 0111011101 1111011101 1001010101 0010101 1101010101 11010101101 0101110101 1001111101 11111 11110111 11010111 0101011101 1100110111 10101 1111101010 1110110001 111101111 010111001 111111 1011010111 1101110101 10001010001 11110011101 1101 01110010101 110010101 1101110101 1111111101 101101 11110110101 0111110101 101111011 11111001 100101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,367 |
Words | 241 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 35 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 156 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 34 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:13 min read
- 91 Views
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"Regret" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/37791/regret>.
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