Translation
Short is the time the oldest Being lives,Nor has Longevity one hour to waste;Life's duties are proportion'd to the hasteWith which it fleets away;--each day receivesIts task, that if neglected, surely givesThe morrow double toil.--Ye, who have pass'dIn idle sport the days that fled so fast,Days, that nor Grief recalls, nor Care retrieves,At length be wise, and think, that of the partRemaining in that vital period given,How short the date, and at the prospect start,Ere to the extremest verge your steps be driv'n!Nor let a moment unimprov'd depart,But view it as the latest trust of Heav'n!
Words in this poem
- longevity n.
- Long duration of life; length of life. [L. longaevitas. See Longevous.]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Translation is in the public domain. This text is taken from Original sonnets on various subjects; and odes paraphrased from Horace, Project Gutenberg ebook #27663; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Anna Seward, Translation, in Original Sonnets on Various Subjects (1799), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #27663, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seward-sonnets/translation.html, id L09775.
Form and metre
Translation is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABCDCDEFEFGG, the pattern of the English sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 36% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other English sonnets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABCDCDEFEFGG livesA · wasteB · hasteA · receivesB · givesC · pass'dD · fastC · retrievesD · partE · givenF · startE · driv'nF · departG · heav'nG
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Short is the time the oldest Being lives, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Nor has Longevity one hour to waste; | 10 | ··˘/˘˘·/·· |
| Life's duties are proportion'd to the haste | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| With which it fleets away;--each day receives | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| Its task, that if neglected, surely gives | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| The morrow double toil.--Ye, who have pass'd | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| In idle sport the days that fled so fast, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Days, that nor Grief recalls, nor Care retrieves, | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| At length be wise, and think, that of the part | 10 | ·········· |
| Remaining in that vital period given, | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘/˘/ |
| How short the date, and at the prospect start, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Ere to the extremest verge your steps be driv'n! | 11 | ···˘/˘····· |
| Nor let a moment unimprov'd depart, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘/ |
| But view it as the latest trust of Heav'n! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.