Analysis of Beautiful Old Age
David Herbert Lawrence 1885 (Eastwood, Nottinghamshire) – 1930 (Vence)
It ought to be lovely to be old
to be full of the peace that comes of experience
and wrinkled ripe fulfilment.
The wrinkled smile of completeness that follows a life
lived undaunted and unsoured with accepted lies
they would ripen like apples, and be scented like pippins
in their old age.
Soothing, old people should be, like apples
when one is tired of love.
Fragrant like yellowing leaves, and dim with the soft
stillness and satisfaction of autumn.
And a girl should say:
It must be wonderful to live and grow old.
Look at my mother, how rich and still she is! -
And a young man should think: By Jove
my father has faced all weathers, but it's been a life!
Scheme | AXA BXXX XXXX XAX BB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111110111 1111011110100 01011 0101101011001 10100110101 11101100110110 0111 1011011110 1111011 101100101101 100010110 00111 11110011011 11110110111 00111111 1101111011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 653 |
Words | 125 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 4, 4, 3, 2 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 104 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 28, 2023
- 37 sec read
- 145 Views
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"Beautiful Old Age" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/7815/beautiful-old-age>.
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