Analysis of To Marcus

Robert Louis Stevenson 1850 (Edinburgh) – 1894 (Vailima, Samoa)



YOU have been far, and I
Been farther yet,
Since last, in foul or fair
An impecunious pair,
Below this northern sky
Of ours, we met.

Now winter night shall see
Again us two,
While howls the tempest higher,
Sit warmly by the fire
And dream and plan, as we
Were wont to do.

And, hand in hand, at large
Our thoughts shall walk
While storm and gusty rain,
Again and yet again,
Shall drive their noisy charge
Across the talk.

The pleasant future still
Shall smile to me,
And hope with wooing hands
Wave on to fairy lands
All over dale and hill
And earth and sea.

And you who doubt the sky
And fear the sun -
You - Christian with the pack -
You shall not wander back
For I am Hopeful - I
Will cheer you on.

Come - where the great have trod,
The great shall lead -
Come, elbow through the press,
Pluck Fortune by the dress -
By God, we must - by God,
We shall succeed.


Scheme ABCCAB DEFFDE GHXXGH IDJJID AXKKAX LXMMLX
Poetic Form
Metre 111101 1101 110111 111 011101 11011 110111 0111 1101010 1101010 010111 0111 010111 10111 110101 010101 111101 0101 010101 1111 011101 111101 110101 0101 011101 0101 110101 111101 111101 1111 110111 0111 11101 110101 111111 1101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 834
Words 176
Sentences 7
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 36
Letters per line (avg) 18
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 109
Words per stanza (avg) 29
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

52 sec read
29

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. more…

All Robert Louis Stevenson poems | Robert Louis Stevenson Books

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