Analysis of October Musings, 1866
Janet Hamilton 1795 (Scotland) – 1873
Silent, grave, subdued, and sober,
Month beloved, my own October!
Resting in thy peaceful arms,
Seeing not, I feel thy charms-
Feel upon my withered cheek
Thy gentle breath, thy whispers meek;
Tell of Autumn's latest sheaves,
Songless woods, and falling leaves-
Nature's floral wreath despoiled;
Hueless, scentless, matted, soiled,
Fall her tresses thin and gray,
Bending to October's sway.
Summer sun with thirsty beams
Drinking dry the pools and streams:
Where thy fervid glories now,
The burning splendours of thy brow?
Veiled effulgence now is thine,
Tender radiance, half divine;
This dreamy quiet, this stilly calm,
Sheds around a soothing balm.
Hushed beneath the influence mild,
My soul is like a weanèd child-
Weaned from earth's low cares and joys,
Vain pursuits, and worthless toys.
Life's short race is nearly run,
And the goal will soon be won;
Still I bear in heart and mind
The wants and sufferings of my kind.
Sad, yet sweet, to moralise
'Neath October's solemn skies,
When the finger of decay
Points the year's declining day;
Like the hand upon the wall,
'Born to die,' inscribes on all:
Flowers decayed and earth defiled,
Where of late they bloomed and smiled;
Fields and wood's dim, bare, and gray,
In every aspect of decay,
Tell me that I too must die-
In cold decay and darkness lie,
Till He, whose name I love and trust,
Shall wake to life my sleeping dust.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFF GGHHIIJJEEKKLLEE BXFEMMEEFFEXEE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10101010 10111010 1001101 1011111 1011101 11011101 1110101 110101 101011 1111 1010101 1010101 1011101 1010101 1110101 0101111 11111 10100101 11010111 1010101 10101001 11110111 1111101 1010101 1111101 0011111 1110101 010100111 11111 1010101 1010101 1010101 1010101 1110111 1001011 1111101 1011101 01001101 1111111 01010101 11111101 11111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,347 |
Words | 239 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 16, 14 |
Lines Amount | 42 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 359 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 79 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:13 min read
- 109 Views
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"October Musings, 1866" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/43049/october-musings%2C-1866>.
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