Analysis of A Youth's Suicide
He handed his life a poisoned draught,
With a scornful smile and a cold, cold glance,
And the merry bystanders loudly laughed
(For the rollicking world was gay!).
He thought she knew not the juice, perchance;
But her tears fell down to her sobbing lips
While the merry-makers turned to the dance
(The world was mocking fate that day!).
To his life he kissed his finger-tips:
'Drink deep the beaker, and so farewell!'
Then slowly the poisoned draught she sips
(How they laugh at her meek dismay!).
He sprang to her arm, which loosely fell,
Crying: 'No! not yet that dire eclipse!'
Now loud laughed the dancers, and whirled pell-mell
(While the echoes hurried away!).
The mad world clustered, it seemed, around.
'Farewell!' she sighed, sinking; then from afar
Flowed the pealing laughter and wassail's sound
(For the dead the world will not stay!).
Scheme | ABAC BDBC DEDC EDEC FXFC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 110110101 1010100111 001010101 10100111 111110101 1011110101 1010101101 01110111 111111101 11010011 110010111 11110101 111011101 101111101 1110100111 10101001 011101101 111101101 10110011 10101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 835 |
Words | 154 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 131 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 29 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 128 Views
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"A Youth's Suicide" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/43456/a-youth%27s-suicide>.
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