Analysis of Ne'er Ask the Hour
Thomas Moore 1779 (Dublin) – 1852 (Bromham)
Ne'er ask the hour -- what is it to us
How Time deals out his treasures?
The golden moments lent us thus
Are not his coin, but Pleasure's.
If counting them o'er could add to their blisses,
I'd number each glorious second:
But moments of joy are, like Lesbia's kisses,
Too quick and sweet to be reckon'd.
Then fill the cup -- what is it to us
How time his circle measures?
The fairy hours we call up thus
Obey no wand but Pleasure's.
Young Joy ne'er thought of counting hours,
Till Care, one summer's morning,
Set up, among his smiling flowers,
A dial, by way of warning.
But Joy loved better to gaze on the sun,
As long as its light was glowing,
Than to watch with old Care how the shadow stole on,
And how fast that light was going.
So fill the cup -- what is it to us
How time his circle measures?
The fairy hours we call up thus
Obey no wand but Pleasure's.
Scheme | abaaacxcaBAA bdbdxdxdaBAA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101011111 1111110 01010111 111111 11011011111 110110010 1101111110 11011110 110111111 1111010 010101111 011111 111111010 1111010 110111010 01011110 1111011101 11111110 11111110111 01111110 110111111 1111010 010101111 011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 868 |
Words | 171 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 12 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 327 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 85 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 33 Views
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