Analysis of Solon
George Meredith 1828 (Portsmouth, Hampshire) – 1909 (Box Hill, Surrey)
The Tyrant passed, and friendlier was his eye
On the great man of Athens, whom for foe
He knew, than on the sycophantic fry
That broke as waters round a galley's flow,
Bubbles at prow and foam along the wake.
Solidity the Thunderer could not shake,
Beneath an adverse wind still stripping bare,
His kinsman, of the light-in-cavern look,
From thought drew, and a countenance could wear
Not less at peace than fields in Attic air
Shorn, and shown fruitful by the reaper's hook.
Most enviable so; yet much insane
To deem of minds of men they grow! these sheep,
By fits wild horses, need the crook and rein;
Hot bulls by fits, pure wisdom hold they cheap,
My Lawgiver, when fiery is the mood.
For ones and twos and threes thy words are good;
For thine own government are pillars: mine
Stand acts to fit the herd; which has quick thirst,
Rejecting elegiacs, though they shine
On polished brass, and, worthy of the Nine,
In showering columns from their fountain burst.
Thus museful rode the Tyrant, princely plumed,
To his high seat upon the sacred rock:
And Solon, blank beside his rule, resumed
The meditation which that passing mock
Had buffeted awhile to sallowness.
He little loved the man, his office less,
Yet owned him for a flower of his kind.
Therefore the heavier curse on Athens he!
The people grew not in themselves, but, blind,
Accepted sight from him, to him resigned
Their hopes of stature, rootless as at sea.
As under sea lay Solon's work, or seemed
By turbid shore-waves beaten day by day;
Defaced, half formless, like an image dreamed,
Or child that fashioned in another clay
Appears, by strangers' hands to home returned.
But shall the Present tyrannize us? earned
It was in some way, justly says the sage.
One sees not how, while husbanding regrets;
While tossing scorn abroad from righteous rage,
High vision is obscured; for this is age
When robbed--more infant than the babe it frets!
Yet see Athenians treading the black path
Laid by a prince's shadow! well content
To wait his pleasure, shivering at his wrath:
They bow to their accepted Orient
With offer of the all that renders bright:
Forgetful of the growth of men to light,
As creatures reared on Persian milk they bow.
Unripe! unripe! The times are overcast.
But still may they who sowed behind the plough
True seed fix in the mind an unborn NOW
To make the plagues afflicting us things past.
Scheme | ABABCCDEDDE FGFGHXIJIIJ HKXKLLMXMML NONOPPQLQQL RSRSTTUVUUV |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 01010100111 1011110111 111100101 111101011 1011010101 010001111 0110111101 111010101 1110010011 1111110101 101101011 1100011101 1111111111 1111010101 1111110111 111100101 1101011111 1111001101 1111011111 0101111 1101010101 01001011101 111010101 1111010101 0101011101 001011101 1010111 1101011101 1111010111 1010011101 0101100111 0101111101 1111010111 110111111 111110111 011111101 1111000101 0111011101 11010111 1101110101 11111101 1101011101 1101011111 1111010111 11010010011 110101110 11110100111 111101010 1101011101 0101011111 1101110111 1101110 1111110101 1110011111 1101010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,332 |
Words | 425 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 11, 11, 11, 11, 11 |
Lines Amount | 55 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 374 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 84 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:08 min read
- 105 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Solon" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15582/solon>.
Discuss this George Meredith 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