Analysis of By Philemon
William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)
Oft we embrace our ills by discontent,
And give them bulk beyond what nature meant.
A parent, brother, friend deceased, to cry--
'He's dead indeed, but he was born to die'--
Such temperate grief is suited to the size
And burden of the loss; is just and wise.
But to exclaim, 'Ah! wherefore was I born,
Thus to be left forever thus forlorn?'
Who thus laments his loss invites distress,
And magnifies a woe that might be less,
Through dull despondence to his lot resign'd,
And leaving reason's remedy behind.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011011001 0111011101 0101010111 1101111111 1101110101 0101011101 110111111 1111010101 1101110101 010011111 11111101 010110001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 503 |
Words | 93 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 12 |
Lines Amount | 12 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 390 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 90 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 28 sec read
- 74 Views
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"By Philemon" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/39824/by-philemon>.
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