The Good, Great Man
Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1772 (Ottery St Mary) – 1834 (Highgate)
'How seldom, friend! a good great man inherits
Honour or wealth with all his worth and pains!
It sounds like stories from the land of spirits
If any man obtain that which he merits
Or any merit that which he obtains.'
Reply to the Above
For shame, dear friend, renounce this canting strain!
What would'st thou have a good great man obtain?
Place? titles? salary? a gilded chain?
Or throne of corses which his sword had slain?
Greatness and goodness are not means, but ends!
Hath he not always treasures, always friends,
The good great man? three treasures, LOVE, and LIGHT,
And CALM THOUGHTS, regular as infant's breath:
And three firm friends, more sure than day and night,
HIMSELF, his MAKER, and the ANGEL DEATH!
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 38 sec read
- 145 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABXAB X CCCCDDEFEF |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 708 |
Words | 128 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 1, 10 |
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"The Good, Great Man" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/34347/the-good,-great-man>.
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