Analysis of Were I a Poet, I would dwell
Alfred Austin 1835 (Leeds) – 1913 (Ashford)
`Were I a Poet, I would dwell,
Not upon lonely height,
Nor cloistered in disdainful cell
From human sound and sight.
I would live nestled near my kind,
Deep in a garden garth,
That they who loved my verse might find
A pathway to my hearth.
`I would not sing of sceptred Kings,
The Tyrant and his thrall,
But everyday pathetic things,
That happen to us all:
The love that lasts through joy, through grief,
The faith that never wanes,
And every wilding bird and leaf
That gladdens English lanes.
`Nor would I shape for Fame my lay,
But only for the sake
Of singing, and to charm away
My own or other's ache;
To close the wound, to soothe the smart,
To heal the feud of years,
And move the misbelieving heart
To tenderness and tears.
`And when to me should come the night,
And I could sing no more,
And faithful lips could but recite
What I had sung before,
I would not have a pompous strain
Resound about my shroud,
Nor sepulchre in sumptuous fane,
Near to the great and proud.
`But only they who loved me best
Should bear me and my lyre,
And lay us, with my kin, at rest
Under the hamlet spire,
Where everything around still breathes
Of prayer that soothes and saves,
And widowed hands bear cottage wreaths
To unforgotten graves.
`And they might raise another cross
Within that hallowed ground,
And tend the flowers and trim the moss
About my grassy mound;
But, honouring me, would carve above
No impious boast of Fame,
And, not for Glory, but for Love,
Would keep alive my name.'
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFGHGH IJIJKXKX BLBLMNMN OPOPXQXQ RSRSTUTU |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01010111 101101 11000101 110101 11110111 100101 11111111 01111 1111111 010011 11010101 110111 01111111 011101 010010101 11101 11111111 110101 11001101 111101 11011101 110111 01011 110001 01111101 011111 01011101 111101 11110101 10111 110101 110101 11011111 111011 01111111 100101 1100111 111101 01011101 111 01110101 011101 010100101 011101 1111101 1010111 01110111 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,440 |
Words | 277 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 194 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 46 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:23 min read
- 47 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Were I a Poet, I would dwell" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/847/were-i-a-poet%2C-i-would-dwell>.
Discuss this Alfred Austin poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In