Analysis of Invitation to the Voyage
Charles Baudelaire 1821 (Paris) – 1867 (Paris)
Imagine, ma petite,
Dear sister mine, how sweet
Were we to go and take our pleasure
Leisurely, you and I—
To lie, to love, to die
Off in that land made to your measure!
A land whose suns' moist rays,
Through the skies' misty haze,
Hold quite the same dark charms for me
As do your scheming eyes
When they, in their like wise,
Shine through your tears, perfidiously.
There all is order, naught amiss:
Comfort and beauty, calm and bliss.
Treasure galore—ornate,
Time-glossed—would decorate
Our chamber, where the rarest blooms
Would blend their lavish scent,
Heady and opulent,
With wisps of amber-like perfumes;
Where all the Orient's
Splendid, rich ornaments—
Deep mirrors, ceilings fine—would each,
In confidential tone,
Speak to the soul alone
In its own sweet and secret speech.
There all is order, naught amiss:
Comfort and beauty, calm and bliss.
See how the ships, asleep—
They who would ply the deep!—
Line the canals: to satisfy
Your merest whim they come
From far-flung heathendom
And skim the seven seas. —On high,
The sunset's rays enfold
In hyacinth and gold,
Field and canal; and, with the night,
As shadows gently fall,
Behold! Life sleeps, and all
Lies bathed in warmth and evening light.
There all is order, naught amiss:
Comfort and beauty, calm and bliss.
Scheme | aabccbddeffg HH iijxxjdxkllk HH mmcxecnnoggo HH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Song |
Metre | 010101 110111 0111011010 100101 111111 101111110 011111 101101 11011111 111101 110111 11111 11110101 10010101 100101 11110 101010101 111101 100100 11110101 1101 101100 11010111 00101 110101 01110101 11110101 10010101 110101 111101 1001110 110111 1111 01010111 01101 01001 10010101 11101 011101 11010101 11110101 10010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,256 |
Words | 220 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 2, 12, 2, 12, 2 |
Lines Amount | 42 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 166 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 27, 2023
- 1:06 min read
- 126 Views
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"Invitation to the Voyage" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/4934/invitation-to-the-voyage>.
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