Analysis of Summer
Alexander Pope 1688 (London) – 1744 (Twickenham)
See what delights in sylvan scenes appear!
Descending Gods have found Elysium here.
In woods bright Venus with Adonis stray'd,
And chaste Diana haunts the forest shade.
Come lovely nymph, and bless the silent hours,
When swains from shearing seek their nightly bow'rs;
When weary reapers quit the sultry field,
And crown'd with corn, their thanks to Ceres yield.
This harmless grove no lurking viper hides,
But in my breast the serpent Love abides.
Here bees from blossoms sip the rosy dew,
But your Alexis knows no sweets but you.
Oh deign to visit our forsaken seats,
The mossy fountains, and the green retreats!
Where-e'er you walk, cool gales shall fan the glade,
Trees, where you sit, shall crowd into a shade,
Where-e'er you tread, the blushing flow'rs shall rise,
And all things flourish where you turn your eyes.
Oh! How I long with you to pass my days,
Invoke the muses, and resound your praise;
Your praise the birds shall chant in ev'ry grove,
And winds shall waft it to the pow'rs above.
But wou'd you sing, and rival Orpheus' strain,
The wond'ring forests soon shou'd dance again,
The moving mountains hear the pow'rful call,
And headlong streams hang list'ning in their fall!
But see, the shepherds shun the noon-day heat,
The lowing herds to murm'ring brooks retreat,
To closer shades the panting flocks remove,
Ye Gods! And is there no relief for Love?
But soon the sun with milder rays descends
To the cool ocean, where his journey ends;
On me Love's fiercer flames for ever prey,
By night he scorches, as he burns by day.
Scheme | ABCCDDEEFFGGHHCCIIJJKLMNOOPPQLRRSS |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101010101 01011101001 0111010101 0101010101 11010101010 1111011101 110110101 0111111101 1101110101 1011010101 1111010101 1101011111 11110100101 011000101 11011111101 1111110101 11011010111 0111011111 1111111111 010100111 110111011 0111110101 11110101001 0111011101 010101011 011111011 1101010111 010111101 1101010101 1101110111 1101110101 1011011101 1111011101 111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,545 |
Words | 270 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 34 |
Lines Amount | 34 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,206 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 268 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 30, 2023
- 1:25 min read
- 221 Views
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"Summer" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/498/summer>.
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