Analysis of Barnacles
Sidney Lanier 1842 (Macon) – 1881 (Lynn)
My soul is sailing through the sea,
But the Past is heavy and hindereth me.
The Past hath crusted cumbrous shells
That hold the flesh of cold sea-mells
About my soul.
The huge waves wash, the high waves roll,
Each barnacle clingeth and worketh dole
And hindereth me from sailing!
Old Past let go, and drop i' the sea
Till fathomless waters cover thee!
For I am living but thou art dead;
Thou drawest back, I strive ahead
The Day to find.
Thy shells unbind! Night comes behind,
I needs must hurry with the wind
And trim me best for sailing.
Scheme | AAXABBBC AADDEEEC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110101 101110011 0111011 11011111 0111 01110111 11001011 011110 111101101 1110101 111101111 1111101 0111 1111101 11110101 0111110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 545 |
Words | 103 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 212 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 51 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 24, 2023
- 30 sec read
- 94 Views
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