Analysis of An Epistle To Joseph Hill, Esq.
William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)
Dear Joseph,-- five and twenty years ago--
Alas! how time escapes -- 'tis even so!--
With frequent intercourse and always sweet
And always friendly we were wont to cheat
A tedious hour, -- and now we never meet,
As some grave gentleman in Terence says,
('Twas therefore much the same in ancient days,)
Good lack, we know not what to-morrow brings,--
Strange fluctuation of all human things!
True. Changes will befall, and friends may part,
But distance only cannot change the heart:
And were I called to prove the assertion true,
One proof should serve, a reference to you.
Whence comes it then, that in the wane of life,
Though nothing have occurred to kindle strife,
We find the friends we fancied we had won,
Though numerous once, reduced to few or none?
Can gold grow worthless that has stood the touch?
No. Gold they seemed, but they were never such.
Horatio's servant once, with bow and cringe
Swinging the parlour door upon its hinge,
Dreading a negative, and overawed
Lest he should trespass, begged to go abroad.
Go, fellow! -- whither? -- turning short about--
Nay. Stay at home ;-- you're always going out.
'Tis but a step, sir, just at the street's end.--
For what? -- An please you, sir, to see a friend.
A friend? Horatio cried, and seemed to start,--
Yea marry shalt thou, and with all my heart--
And fetch my cloak, for though the night be raw
I'll see him too -- the first I ever saw.
I knew the man, and knew his nature mild,
And was his plaything often when a child;
But somewhat at that moment pinched him close,
Else he was seldom bitter or morose:
Perhaps his confidence just then betrayed,
His grief might prompt him with the speech he made;
Perhaps 'twas mere good humour gave it birth,
The harmless play of pleasantry and mirth.
Howe'er it was, his language in my mind
Bespoke at least a man that knew mankind.
But not to moralise too much, and strain
To prove an evil of which all complain,
(I hate long arguments, verbosely spun,)
One story more, dear Hill, and I have done.
Once on a time, an Emperor, a wise man,
No matter where, in China or Japan,
Decreed that whosoever should offend
Against the well-known duties of a friend,
Convicted once, should ever after wear
But half a coat, and show his bosom bare;
The punishment importing this, no doubt,
That all was naught within, and all found out.
Oh happy Britain! we have not to fear
Such hard and arbitrary measures here;
Else could a law like that which I relate,
Once have the sanction of our triple state,
Some few that I have known in days of old
Would run most dreadful risk of catching cold.
While you, my friend, whatever mind should blow,
Might traverse England safely to and fro,
An honest man, close-buttoned to the chin,
Broad-cloth without, and a warm heart within.
Scheme | AABBBCDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKBLMMNNFFOPQQRRSSTTUUVVIIWWNNXXMMYZ1 1 2 2 AA3 3 |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101010101 0111011101 11010011 011010111 010010011101 1111000101 111010101 1111111101 101011101 1101010111 1101010101 00111100101 1111010011 1111100111 1101011101 1101110111 11001011111 1111011101 1111110101 01001011101 1001010111 10010001 111111101 1101010101 111111101 1101111011 1111111101 0101010111 1101101111 0111110111 1111011101 1101011101 011110101 1111110111 1111010101 0111001101 1111110111 011111111 0101110001 1011110011 111011111 11111101 1111011101 11110011 1101110111 11011100011 1101010101 011010101 0101110101 0101110101 1101011101 0100010111 1111010111 1101011111 110100101 1101111101 11010110101 1111110111 1111011101 111110111 1101010101 1101110101 1101001101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,709 |
Words | 508 |
Sentences | 27 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 63 |
Lines Amount | 63 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 2,119 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 499 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:34 min read
- 109 Views
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"An Epistle To Joseph Hill, Esq." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/39806/an-epistle-to-joseph-hill%2C-esq.>.
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