Analysis of A Prayer For Old Age

William Butler Yeats 1865 (Sandymount) – 1939 (Menton)



GOD guard me from those thoughts men think
In the mind alone;
He that sings a lasting song
Thinks in a marrow-bone;
From all that makes a wise old man
That can be praised of all;
O what am I that I should not seem
For the song's sake a fool?
I pray -- for word is out
And prayer comes round again --
That I may seem, though I die old,
A foolish, passionate man.


Scheme ABCBDEFGHIJD
Poetic Form
Metre 11111111 00101 1110101 100101 11110111 111111 111111111 101101 111111 011101 11111111 0101001
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 358
Words 78
Sentences 3
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 272
Words per stanza (avg) 76
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 29, 2023

23 sec read
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William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. more…

All William Butler Yeats poems | William Butler Yeats Books

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