Analysis of Stanzas on the Death of Lord Byron
Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806 (Kelloe) – 1861 (Florence)
He was, and is not! Graecia's trembling shore,
Sighing through all her palmy groves, shall tell
That Harold's pilgrimage at last is o'er—
Mute the impassioned tongue, and tuneful shell,
That erst was wont in noblest strains to swell—
Hush'd the proud shouts that rode Aegaea's wave!
For lo! the great Deliv'rer breathes farewell!
Gives to the world his mem'ry and a grave—
Expiring in the land he only lived to save!
Mourn, Hellas, mourn! and o'er thy widow'd brow,
For aye, the cypress wreath of sorrow twine;
And in thy new-form'd beauty, desolate, throw
The fresh-cull'd flowers on his sepulchral shrine.
Yes! let that heart whose fervour was all thine,
In consecrated urn lamented be!
That generous heart where genius thrill'd divine,
Hath spent its last most glorious throb for thee—
Then sank amid the storm that made thy children free!
Britannia's Poet! Graecia's hero, sleeps!
And Freedom, bending o'er the breathless clay,
Lifts up her voice, and in her anguish weeps!
For us, a night hath clouded o'er our day,
And hush'd the lips that breath'd our fairest lay.
Alas! and must the British lyre resound
A requiem, while the spirit wings away
Of him who on its strings such music found,
And taught its startling chords to give so sweet a sound!
The theme grows sadder — but my soul shall find
A language in those tears! No more — no more!
Soon, 'midst the shriekings of the tossing wind,
The 'dark blue depths' he sang of, shall have bore
Our all of Byron to his native shore!
His grave is thick with voices — to the ear
Murm'ring an awful tale of greatness o'er;
But Memory strives with Death, and lingering near,
Shall consecrate the dust of Harold's lonely bier!
Scheme | ABCBBDBDD XEXEEFEFF GHGHHIHII JAJAAKCXK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101111001 101101111 11010011110 1001010101 1111010111 10111111 1101111 110111001 010001110111 1110101101 1101011101 00111101001 011101111 111111111 010010101 11001110101 11111100111 110101111101 1101101 01010100101 1101000101 110111010101 01011110101 010101011 01001010101 1111111101 011101111101 0111011111 0100111111 110110101 0111111111 10111011101 1111110101 1110111010 110011101001 11001110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,660 |
Words | 296 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 9, 9, 9 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 36 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 325 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 74 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 10, 2023
- 1:35 min read
- 84 Views
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"Stanzas on the Death of Lord Byron" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10386/stanzas-on-the-death-of-lord-byron>.
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