Analysis of To a Friend
Matthew Arnold 1822 (Laleham) – 1888 (Liverpool)
Who prop, thou ask'st in these bad days, my mind?--
He much, the old man, who, clearest-souled of men,
Saw The Wide Prospect, and the Asian Fen,
And Tmolus hill, and Smyrna bay, though blind.
Much he, whose friendship I not long since won,
That halting slave, who in Nicopolis
Taught Arrian, when Vespasian's brutal son
Cleared Rome of what most shamed him. But be his
My special thanks, whose even-balanced soul,
From first youth tested up to extreme old age,
Business could not make dull, nor passion wild;
Who saw life steadily, and saw it whole;
The mellow glory of the Attic stage,
Singer of sweet Colonus, and its child.
Scheme | ABBA CDCD EFG EFG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111011111 11011110111 1011000101 011010111 1111011111 1101101 1111101 1111111111 1101110101 11110110111 1011111101 1111000111 0101010101 1011010011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 621 |
Words | 114 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 3, 3 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 121 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 394 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"To a Friend" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Sep. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/27299/to-a-friend>.
Discuss this Matthew Arnold 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