Analysis of Had I Wist
Algernon Charles Swinburne 1837 (London) – 1909 (London)
Had I wist, when life was like a warm wind playing
Light and loud through sundawn and the dew's bright trust,
How the time should come for hearts to sigh in saying
'Had I wist' -
Surely not the roses, laughing as they kissed,
Not the lovelier laugh of seas in sunshine swaying,
Should have lured my soul to look thereon and list.
Now the wind is like a soul cast out and praying
Vainly, prayers that pierce not ears when hearts resist:
Now mine own soul sighs, adrift as wind and straying,
'Had I wist.'
| Scheme | axaB bab abaB |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 111111101110 1011100111 101111111010 111 10101010111 1011110110 11111110101 101110111010 10111111101 111110111010 111 |
| Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
| Characters | 505 |
| Words | 99 |
| Sentences | 3 |
| Stanzas | 3 |
| Stanza Lengths | 4, 3, 4 |
| Lines Amount | 11 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 36 |
| Words per line (avg) | 9 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 130 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 32 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 29 sec read
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"Had I Wist" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1325/had-i-wist>.
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