Text of the Poem
Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air,
In his own ground.
Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire,
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter fire.
Blest, who can unconcernedly find
Hours, days, and years slide soft away,
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day,
Sound sleep by night; study and ease,
Together mixed; sweet recreation;
And innocence, which most does please,
With meditation.
Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.
-
— Allegra Keys, Owl Eyes Editor
Solitude is the best practice to balance all the elements of life.
-
— Allegra Keys, Owl Eyes Editor
This line uses a spondee, which is a DUM-DUM beat.
-
— Allegra Keys, Owl Eyes Editor
This stanza makes use of anaphora with the repeating of "whose.”
-
— Allegra Keys, Owl Eyes Editor
When enjambment is used in this poem it speeds up the thought, making the end-stops used on solitary thoughts not just coincidental. The speaker is saying thoughts, much like life, end in solitaire.
-
— Allegra Keys, Owl Eyes Editor
This poem follows a rhyme scheme of ABAB and is mostly in iambic tetrameter, except every fourth line is written in dimeter. These fourth lines have only two da-DUMs instead of four.
-
— Allegra Keys, Owl Eyes Editor
This poem opens with a trochee, as opposed to an iamb. So the sound is DUM-da instead of the typical da-DUM.