Analysis of Love's Supremacy
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
As yon great Sun in his supreme condition
Absorbs small worlds and makes them all his own,
So does my love absorb each vain ambition
Each outside purpose which my life has known.
Stars cannot shine so near that vast orb's splendor,
They are content to feed his flames of fire;
And so my heart is satisfied to render
Its strength, its all, to meet thy strong desire.
As in a forest when dead leaves are falling,
From all save some perennial green tree,
So one by one I find all pleasures palling
That are not linked with or enjoyed by thee.
And all the homage that the world may proffer,
I take as perfumed oils or incense sweet,
And think of it as one thing more to offer
And sacrifice to Love, at thy dear feet.
I love myself because thou art my lover,
My name seems dear since uttered by thy voice;
Yet argus-eyed I watch and would discover
Each blemish in the object of thy choice.
I coldly sit in judgment on each error,
To my soul's gaze I hold each fault of me,
Until my pride is lost in abject terror,
Lest I become inadequate to thee.
Like some swift-rushing and sea-seeking river,
Which gathers force the farther on it goes,
So does the current of my love forever
Find added strength and beauty as it flows.
The more I give, the more remains for giving,
The more receive, the more remains to win.
Ah! only in eternities of living
Will life be long enough to love thee in.
Scheme | ABABCCCC DEDECFCF CGCGCECE CHCHDIDI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110101010 0111011111 11110111010 1111011111 11011111110 11101111110 0111110110 11111111010 10010111110 1111010011 1111111101 1111110111 01010101110 1110111011 01111111110 010111111 1110111110 1111110111 11011101010 1100010111 11010101110 1111111111 01111101010 1101010011 11110011010 1101010111 11010111010 1101010111 01110101110 0101010111 11001110 1111011110 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,385 |
Words | 265 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 271 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 66 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:20 min read
- 97 Views
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"Love's Supremacy" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10703/love%27s-supremacy>.
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