Analysis of Ode VII: On The Use Of Poetry
Mark Akenside 1721 (Newcastle upon Tyne) – 1770
I.
Not for themselves did human kind
Contrive the parts by heaven assign'd
On life's wide scene to play:
Not Scipio's force, nor Cæsar's skill
Can conquer glory's arduous hill,
If fortune close the way.
II.
Yet still the self-depending soul,
Though last and least in fortune's roll,
His proper sphere commands;
And knows what nature's seal bestow'd,
And sees, before the throne of God,
The rank in which he stands.
III.
Who train'd by laws the future age,
Who rescu'd nations from the rage
Of partial, factious power,
My heart with distant homage views;
Content if thou, celestial Muse,
Did'st rule my natal hour.
IV.
Nor far beneath the hero's feet,
Nor from the legislator's seat
Stands far remote the bard.
Though not with public terrors crown'd,
Yet wider shall his rule be found,
More lasting his award.
V.
Lycurgus fashion'd Sparta's fame,
And Pompey to the Roman name
Gave universal sway:
Where are they?—Homer's reverend page
Holds empire to the thirtieth age,
And tongues and climes obey.
VI.
And thus when William's acts divine
No longer shall from Bourbon's line
Draw one vindictive vow;
When Sidney shall with Cato rest,
And Russel move the patriot's breast
No more than Brutus now;
VII.
Yet then shall Shakespeare's powerful art
O'er every passion, every heart,
Confirm his awful throne:
Tyrants shall bow before his laws;
And freedom's, glory's, virtue's cause,
Their dread assertor own.
Scheme | ABBCDDC AEEFXXF AGGHIIH JKKXLLX JMMCGGC ANNJOOX JPPQXXQ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1 11011101 010111001 111111 1111111 11011001 110101 1 11010101 11010101 110101 01110101 01010111 010111 1 11110101 11010101 110110 11110101 10110101 11111010 1 11010101 11011 110101 11110101 11011111 110101 1 0101011 01010101 10101 111101001 1100101001 010101 1 01110101 1101111 110101 11011101 010101001 111101 1 11111001 10100101001 011101 10110111 010111 1111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,365 |
Words | 237 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7 |
Lines Amount | 49 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 156 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:18 min read
- 68 Views
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"Ode VII: On The Use Of Poetry" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/26517/ode-vii%3A-on-the-use-of-poetry>.
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