Analysis of Desmond's Song

Thomas Moore 1779 (Dublin) – 1852 (Bromham)



By the Feal's wave benighted,
No star in the skies,
To thy door by Love lighted,
I first saw those eyes.
Some voice whisper'd o'er me,
As the threshold I cross'd,
There was ruin before me,
If I loved, I was lost.

Love came, and brought sorrow
Too soon in his train;
Yet so sweet, that to-morrow
'Twere welcome again.
Though misery's full measure
My portion should be,
I would drain it with pleasure,
If pour'd out by thee.

You, who call it dishonour
To bow to this flame,
If you've eyes, look but on her,
And blush while you blame.
Hath the pearl less whiteness
Because of its birth?
Hath the violet less brightness
For growing near earth?

No -- Man for his glory
To ancestry flies;
But Woman's bright story
Is told in her eyes.
While the Monarch but traces
Through mortals his line,
Beauty, born of the Graces,
Ranks next to Divine!


Scheme XAXABCBC DXDXEBEB DFEFGHGH BABAXIXI
Poetic Form
Metre 1011010 11001 1111110 11111 1110101 10111 1110011 111111 110110 11011 1111110 11001 11110 11011 1111110 11111 11111 11111 1111110 01111 101110 01111 10100110 11011 111110 11001 110110 11001 101110 11011 1011010 11101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 841
Words 157
Sentences 10
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 20
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 160
Words per stanza (avg) 39
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

49 sec read
116

Thomas Moore

Thomas Moore was an Irish poet singer songwriter and entertainer now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and the The Last Rose of Summer more…

All Thomas Moore poems | Thomas Moore Books

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