Analysis of The Blind Boy

Colley Cibber 1671 (Southampton Street, London) – 1757 (Berkeley Square)



O SAY what is that thing call’d Light,  
 Which I must ne’er enjoy;  
What are the blessings of the sight,  
 O tell your poor blind boy!  

You talk of wondrous things you see,       
 You say the sun shines bright;  
I feel him warm, but how can he  
 Or make it day or night?  

My day or night myself I make  
 Whene’er I sleep or play;        
And could I ever keep awake  
 With me ’twere always day.  

With heavy sighs I often hear  
 You mourn my hapless woe;  
But sure with patience I can bear         
 A loss I ne’er can know.  

Then let not what I cannot have  
 My cheer of mind destroy:  
Whilst thus I sing, I am a king,  
 Although a poor blind boy.


Scheme ABAB CACA DEDE XFXF XBXB
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 11111111 111101 11010101 111111 11110111 110111 11111111 111111 1111111 11111 01110101 11111 11011101 111101 11110111 011111 11111101 111101 11111101 10111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 667
Words 127
Sentences 6
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 91
Words per stanza (avg) 25
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 21, 2023

38 sec read
274

Colley Cibber

Colley Cibber was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. more…

All Colley Cibber poems | Colley Cibber Books

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