Analysis of Outre Mer
Henry Kendall 1839 (Australia) – 1882 (Sydney)
I see, as one in dreaming,
A broad, bright, quiet sea;
Beyond it lies a haven --
The only home for me.
Some men grow strong with trouble,
But all my strength is past,
And tired and full of sorrow,
I long to sleep at last.
By force of chance and changes
Man's life is hard at best;
And, seeing rest is voiceless,
The dearest thing is rest.
Beyond the sea -- behold it,
The home I wish to seek,
The refuge of the weary,
The solace of the weak!
Sweet angel fingers beckon,
Sweet angel voices ask
My soul to cross the waters;
And yet I dread the task.
God help the man whose trials
Are tares that he must reap!
He cannot face the future --
His only hope is sleep.
Across the main a vision
Of sunset coasts, and skies,
And widths of waters gleaming,
Enchant my human eyes.
I, who have sinned and suffered,
Have sought -- with tears have sought --
To rule my life with goodness,
And shape it to my thought.
And yet there is no refuge
To shield me from distress,
Except the realm of slumber
And great forgetfulness.
Scheme | ABCBXDXDXEFE XGBGCHXHXIJI CKAKXLFLXXJB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111010 011101 0111010 010111 1111110 111111 01001110 111111 1111010 111111 0101110 010111 0101011 011111 0101010 010101 1101010 110101 1111010 011101 1101110 111111 1101010 110111 0101010 11101 0111010 011101 1111010 111111 1111110 011111 0111110 111101 0101110 011 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,070 |
Words | 199 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 12, 12 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 21 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 256 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 66 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:00 min read
- 113 Views
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"Outre Mer" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17549/outre-mer>.
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