Analysis of Life
Barry Cornwall 1787 (Leeds, Yorkshire) – 1874 (London)
WE are born; we laugh; we weep;
We love; we droop; we die!
Ah! wherefore do we laugh or weep?
Why do we live, or die?
Who knows that secret deep?
Alas, not I!
Why doth the violet spring
Unseen by human eye?
Why do the radiant seasons bring
Sweet thoughts that quickly fly?
Why do our fond hearts cling
To things that die?
We toil,—through pain and wrong;
We fight,—and fly;
We love; we lose; and then, ere long,
Stone-dead we lie.
O life! is all thy song
“Endure and—die”?
| Scheme | ABABAB CBCBCB DBDBDB |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 1111111 111111 1111111 111111 111101 0111 1101001 011101 110100101 111101 1110111 1111 111101 1101 11110111 1111 111111 0101 |
| Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
| Characters | 513 |
| Words | 95 |
| Sentences | 13 |
| Stanzas | 3 |
| Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6 |
| Lines Amount | 18 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 19 |
| Words per line (avg) | 5 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 116 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 30 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 28 sec read
- 148 Views
0 fans
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Life" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/4215/life>.
Powered by CITE.ME
Discuss this Barry Cornwall poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In