Analysis of Approaching Night
John Clare 1793 (Helpston) – 1864 (St Andrew's Hospital)
O take this world away from me;
Its strife I cannot bear to see,
Its very praises hurt me more
Than een its coldness did before,
Its hollow ways torment me now
And start a cold sweat on my brow,
Its noise I cannot bear to hear,
Its joy is trouble to my ear,
Its ways I cannot bear to see,
Its crowds are solitudes to me.
O, how I long to be agen
That poor and independent man,
With labour's lot from morn to night
And books to read at candle light;
That followed labour in the field
From light to dark when toil could yield
Real happiness with little gain,
Rich thoughtless health unknown to pain:
Though, leaning on my spade to rest,
I've thought how richer folks were blest
And knew not quiet was the best.
Go with your tauntings, go;
Neer think to hurt me so;
I'll scoff at your disdain.
Cold though the winter blow,
When hills are free from snow
It will be spring again.
So go, and fare thee well,
Nor think ye'll have to tell
Of wounded hearts from me,
Locked up in your hearts cell.
Mine still at home doth dwell
In its first liberty.
Bees sip not at one flower,
Spring comes not with one shower,
Nor shines the sun alone
Upon one favoured hour,
But with unstinted power
Makes every day his own.
And for my freedom's sake
With such I'll pattern take,
And rove and revel on.
Your gall shall never make
Me honied paths forsake;
So prythee get thee gone.
And when my toil is blest
And I find a maid possest
Of truth that's not in thee,
Like bird that finds its nest
I'll stop and take my rest;
And love as she loves me.
Scheme | AABBCCDDAACXEEFFGGHHH IIGIIX JJAJJA KKLKKL MMXMMX HEAHHA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110111 11110111 11010111 11110101 1101111 01011111 11110111 11110111 11110111 111111 1111111 1100101 1111111 01111101 1101001 11111111 11001101 11010111 11011111 11110101 01110101 11111 111111 111101 110101 111111 111101 110111 111111 110111 110111 111111 011100 1111110 1111110 110101 011110 11110 1100111 011101 111101 010101 111101 11101 11111 011111 011011 111101 111111 110111 011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,480 |
Words | 301 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 21, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 51 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 196 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 50 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 31, 2023
- 1:32 min read
- 146 Views
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"Approaching Night" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 31 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22199/approaching-night>.
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