Esther, A Sonnet Sequence: I

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt 1840 (Petworth House) – 1922 (United Kingdom)



When is life other than a tragedy,
Whether it is played in tears from the first scene,
In sable robes and grief's mute pageantry,
For loves that died ere they had ever been,
Or whether on the edge of joys set keen,
While all the stage with laughter is agog,
Death stepping forward with an altered mien
Pulls off his mask, and speaks the epilogue?
Life is a play acted by dying men,
Where, if its heroes seem to foot it well
And go light--tongued without grimace of pain,
Death will be found anon. And who shall tell
Which part was saddest, or in youth or age,
When the tired actor stops and leaves the stage?

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
87

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABACBDBEFGHGII
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 603
Words 118
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt was an English poet and writer. more…

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