Analysis of Sonnet: Lift Not The Painted Veil Which Those Who Live

Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792 (Horsham) – 1822 (Lerici)



Lift not the painted veil which those who live
Call Life: though unreal shapes be pictured there,
And it but mimic all we would believe
With colours idly spread,-behind, lurk Fear
And Hope, twin Destinies; who ever weave
Their shadows, o'er the chasm, sightless and drear.
I knew one who had lifted it-he sought,
For his lost heart was tender, things to love,
But found them not, alas! nor was there aught
The world contains, the which he could approve.
Through the unheeding many he did move,
A splendour among shadows, a bright blot
Upon this gloomy scene, a Spirit that strove
For truth, and like the Preacher found it not.


Scheme ABCDCBEFEGGHIH
Poetic Form
Metre 1101011111 1110111101 0111011101 111010111 0111001101 1110010101 1111110111 1111110111 1111011111 0101011101 10110111 01011011 01110101011 1101010111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 634
Words 114
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 492
Words per stanza (avg) 111
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 25, 2023

34 sec read
198

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is regarded by critics as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. more…

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