Jane Austen (16th Dec 1775 – 18th July 1817)

Jane Austen is best-remembered as a novelist, author of books like Pride and Prejudice and
Sense and Sensibility. Her Popularity and talent brought her on the £10 note which was
introduced in 2017, replacing Charles Darwin. Her writing is often ironic and witty, casting
female characters in primary roles and featuring their strengths. Her use of biting irony,
along with her realism, humour, and social commentary, have long earned her acclaim
among critics, scholars, and popular audiences alike. She also wrote a few select poems
throughout her life among which the “When Stretch’d on One’s Bed” is most astounding.

When Stretch’d on One’s Bed

When stretch’d on one’s bed
With a fierce-throbbing head, Literary Devices:
Which precludes alike thought or repose, Irony
How little one cares
For the grandest affairs Repetition (They, our)
That may busy the world as it goes! Anaphora (How)

Assonance
How little one feels
For the waltzes and reels Euphemism
Of our Dance-loving friends at a Ball!
Hyperbole
How slight one’s concern
To conjecture or learn Personification
What their flounces or hearts may befall. Simile

How little one minds Oxymoron

If a company dines Synecdoche
On the best that the Season affords!
Rhyme Scheme:
How short is one’s muse?
O’er the Sauces and Stews, aabccb; ddeffd; gghiih; jjkllk;
Or the Guests, be they Beggars or Lords. mmnoon

How little the Bells,

Ring they Peels, toll they Knells,
Can attract our attention or Ears!
The bride may be married,
The Corse may be carried
And touch nor our hopes nor our fears.

Our own bodily pains

Ev’ry faculty chains;
We can feel on no subject besides.
Tis in health and in ease
We the power must seize
For our friends and our souls to provide.