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 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 25, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 198 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Sonnet: Lift Not The Painted Veil Which Those Who Live" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 31 Oct. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/29240/sonnet%3A-lift-not-the-painted-veil-which-those-who-live>.
Discuss this Percy Bysshe Shelley 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