Analysis of The Shortness Of Life
Francis Quarles 1592 (Romford) – 1644
And what's a life? A weary pilgrimage,
Whose glory in one day doth fill the stage
With childhood, manhood, and decrepit age.
And what's a life? The flourishing array
Of the proud summer-meadow, which to-day
Wears her green plush, and is to-morrow hay.
Read on this dial, how the shades devour
My short-lived winter's day! hour eats up the hour;
Alas! the total's but from eight to four.
Behold these lilies, which Thy hands have made
Fair copies of my life, and open laid
To view, how soon they droop, how soon they fade!
Shade not that dial, night will blind too soon;
My nonaged day already points to noon;
How simple is my suit! how small my boon!
Nor do I beg this slender inch to wile
The time away, or falsely to beguile
My thoughts with joy: here's nothing worth a smile.
Scheme | XAA BBB CCX DDD EEE FFF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101010100 1100111101 11100101 0101010001 101101111 1011011101 11110101010 1111011011010 0101011111 0111011111 1101110101 1111111111 1111011111 111010111 1101111111 1111110111 0101110101 1111110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 770 |
Words | 146 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 |
Lines Amount | 18 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 100 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 141 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Shortness Of Life" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13865/the-shortness-of-life>.
Discuss this Francis Quarles 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