Analysis of The Happy Man

James Thomson 1700 (Port Glasgow) – 1748 (London)



He's not the happy man, to whom is given
A plenteous fortune by indulgent Heaven;
Whose gilded roofs on shining columns rise,
And painted walls enchant the gazer's eyes;
Whose table flows with hospitable cheer,
And all the various bounty of the year;
Whose valleys smile, whose gardens breathe the spring,
Whose curved mountains bleat, and forests sing;
For whom the cooling shade in summer twines,
While his full cellars give their generous wines;
From whose wide fields unbounded autumn pours
A golden tide into his swelling stores;
Whose winter laughs; for whom the liberal gales
Stretch the big sheet, and toiling commerce sails;
Whom yielding crowds attend, and pleasure serves;
While youth, and health, and vigour string his nerves.
E'en not all these, in one rich lot combined,
Can make the happy man, without the mind;
Where judgment sits clear-sighted, and surveys
The chain of reason with unerring gaze;
Where fancy lives, and to the brightening eyes,
Her fairer scenes, and bolder figures rise;
Where social love exerts her soft command,
And lays the passions with a tender hand,
Whence every virtue flows, in rival strife,
And all the moral harmony of life.
Nor canst thou, Dodington, this truth decline:
Thine is the fortune, and the mind is thine.


Scheme AABBCCDDBEFFGGHHIIJJBBKKLLMM
Poetic Form
Metre 11010111110 0110101010 1101110101 010101011 1101111001 01010010101 1101110101 111010101 1101010101 11110111001 1111010101 0101011101 11011101001 1011010101 1101010101 110101111 11111011101 1101010101 1101110001 01110111 11010101001 0101010101 1101010101 0101010101 11001010101 0101010011 11111101 1101000111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,242
Words 212
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 28
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 36
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 1,007
Words per stanza (avg) 210
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:04 min read
125

James Thomson

James Thomson, who wrote under the pseudonym Bysshe Vanolis, was a Scottish Victorian-era poet famous primarily for the long poem The City of Dreadful Night, an expression of bleak pessimism in a dehumanized, uncaring urban environment. more…

All James Thomson poems | James Thomson Books

1 fan

Discuss this James Thomson poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Happy Man" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20619/the-happy-man>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    June 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    19
    days
    23
    hours
    43
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "The Road Not Taken"?
    A Walt Whitman
    B Robert Frost
    C Langston Hughes
    D Emily Dickinson