poem "Vitae Summa Brevis" by Ernest Dowson

E857980

"Vitae Summa Brevis" is a brief, melancholic lyric poem by Ernest Dowson, best known for its haunting meditation on the brevity of life and love.

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poem "Vitae Summa Brevis" by Ernest Dowson canonical 1

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Predicate Object
instanceOf lyric poem
poem
associatedWith Aestheticism
English Decadent poetry
fin de siècle literature
author Ernest Dowson
countryOfOrigin United Kingdom
creator Ernest Dowson
firstLine They are not long, the weeping and the laughter
focusesOn contrast between joy and sorrow
inevitability of loss
form short lyric
genre lyric poetry
hasImagery fleeting days
wine and roses
hasLength short
hasMood wistful
hasPerspective first-person plural and reflective
influenced The Days of Wine and Roses (1958 teleplay title)
The Days of Wine and Roses (1962 film title)
The Days of Wine and Roses (song title)
language English
literaryPeriod 1890s
literaryStatus well-known poem by Ernest Dowson
literaryTradition classical allusion
meter accentual-syllabic verse
movement Decadent movement
linked to: Decadentism
notableLine They are not long, the days of wine and roses
publicationContext late Victorian poetry collections by Ernest Dowson
rhymeScheme regular rhyme scheme
subjectOf literary criticism on Ernest Dowson
theme brevity of life
ephemerality of happiness
melancholy
mortality
transience of love
titleLanguage Latin
titleMeaning The short sum of life
titleSource Horace
tone elegiac
melancholic
usesDevice allusion
contrast
repetition
symbolism
writtenBy Ernest Dowson

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Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Days of Wine and Roses titleOrigin poem "Vitae Summa Brevis" by Ernest Dowson