Analysis of Evening Ode

Samuel Johnson 1709 (Lichfield) – 1784 (London)



Evening now from purple wings
Sheds the grateful gifts she brings;
Brilliant drops bedeck the mead,
Cooling breezes shake the reed;
Shake the reed, and curl the stream
Silver'd o'er with Cynthia's beam;
Near the chequer'd, lonely grove,
Hears, and keeps thy secrets, love!
Stella, thither let us stray,
Lightly o'er the dewy way.
Phoebus drives his burning car,
Hence, my lovely Stella, far;
In his stead, the queen of night
Round us pours a lambent light:
Light that seems but just to show
Breasts that beat, and cheeks that glow;
Let us now, in whisper'd joy,
Evening's silent hours employ,
Silent best, and conscious shades,
Please the hearts that love invades,
Other pleasures give them pain,
Lovers all but love disdain.


Scheme AABBCCDEFFGGHHIIJJKKLL
Poetic Form
Metre 1011101 1010111 1010101 1010101 1010101 11011001 101101 1011101 101111 10100101 1011101 1110101 0110111 111011 1111111 1110111 1110101 10101001 1010101 1011101 1010111 1011101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 722
Words 126
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 22
Lines Amount 22
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 568
Words per stanza (avg) 122
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

39 sec read
71

Samuel Johnson

The Reverend Doctor Samuel Johnson was a clergyman, educator, and philosopher in colonial British North America. more…

All Samuel Johnson poems | Samuel Johnson Books

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