Analysis of Ode to the Nightingale
Mary Darby Robinson 1757 (England) – 1800 (England)
SWEET BIRD OF SORROW! why complain
In such soft melody of Song,
That ECHO, am'rous of thy Strain,
The ling'ring cadence doth prolong?
Ah! tell me, tell me, why,
Thy dulcet Notes ascend the sky.
Or on the filmy vapours glide
Along the misty moutain's side?
And wherefore dost Thou love to dwell,
In the dark wood and moss-grown cell,
Beside the willow-margin'd stream
Why dost Thou court wan Cynthia's beam?
Sweet Songstressif thy wayward fate
Hath robb'd Thee of thy bosom's mate,
Oh, think not thy heart-piercing moan
Evap'rates on the breezy air,
Or that the plaintive Song of Care
Steals from THY Widow'd Breast alone.
Oft have I heard thy mournful Tale,
On the high Cliff, that o'er the Vale
Hangs its dark brow, whose awful shade
Spreads a deep gloom along the glade:
Led by its sound, I've wander'd far,
Till crimson evening's flaming Star
On Heav'n's vast dome refulgent hung,
And round ethereal vapours flung;
And oft I've sought th'HYGEIAN MAID,
In rosy dimply smiles array'd,
Till forc'd with every HOPE to part,
Resistless Pain subdued my Heart.
Oh then, far o'er the restless deep
Forlorn my poignant pangs I bore,
Alone in foreign realms to weep,
Where ENVY's voice could taunt no more.
I hop'd, by mingling with the gay,
To snatch the veil of Grief away;
To break Affliction's pond'rous chain;
VAIN was the Hopein vain I sought
The placid hour of careless thought,
Where Fashion wing'd her light career,
And sportive Pleasure danc'd along,
Oft have I shunn'd the blithsome throng,
To hide th'involuntary tear,
For e'en where rapt'rous transports glow,
From the full Heart the conscious tear will flow,
When to my downy couch remov'd,
FANCY recall'd my wearied mind
To scenes of FRIENDSHIP left behind,
Scenes still regretted, still belov'd!
Ah, then I felt the pangs of Grief,
Grasp my warm Heart, and mock relief;
My burning lids Sleep's balm defied,
And on my fev'rish lip imperfect murmurs died.
Restless and sadI sought once more
A calm retreat on BRITAIN's shore;
Deceitful HOPE, e'en there I found
That soothing FRIENDSHIP's specious name
Was but a short-liv'd empty sound,
And LOVE a false delusive flame.
Then come, Sweet BIRD, and with thy strain,
Steal from my breast the thorn of pain;
Blest solace of my lonely hours,
In craggy caves and silent bow'rs,
When HAPPY Mortals seek repose,
By Night's pale lamp we'll chaunt our woes,
And, as her chilling tears diffuse
O'er the white thorn their silv'ry dews,
I'll with the lucid boughts entwine
A weeping Wreath, which round my Head
Shall by the waning Cresent shine,
And light us to our leafy bed,
But ah! nor leafy beds nor bow'rs
Fring'd with soft MAY's enamell'd flow'rs,
Nor pearly leaves, nor Cynthia's beams,
Nor smiling Pleasure's shad'wy dreams,
Sweet BIRD, not e'en THY melting Strains
Can calm the Heart, where TYRANT SORROW REIGNS.
Scheme | ABABCCDDEEFFGGHIIHJJKKLLMMKKNN OPOPQQARRXBBISSXTTXUUDD PPVWVW AAXXYYXXZ1 Z1 XX2 2 3 3 |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110101 01110011 1101111 01110101 111111 11010101 110111 0101011 0111111 00110111 0101101 111111001 1111101 1111111 11111101 110101 11010111 11110101 11111101 101111001 11111101 10110101 11111101 11010101 111111 01010011 011111 0101101 111100111 110111 111100101 01110111 01010111 1111111 111100101 11011101 11111 11010111 010101101 11010101 0110101 1111011 111101001 11111011 1011010111 11110101 10011101 11110101 11010101 11110111 11110101 11011101 01111010101 10011111 01011101 010111111 1101101 11011101 010111 11110111 11110111 110111010 01010101 11010101 111111101 01010101 10011111 11010101 01011111 1101011 011110101 11110111 111111 110111001 1101111 111111101 1101110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,819 |
Words | 485 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 30, 23, 6, 18 |
Lines Amount | 77 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 549 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 121 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 29, 2023
- 2:41 min read
- 162 Views
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"Ode to the Nightingale" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/26757/ode-to-the-nightingale>.
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