Analysis of An Hour Of Romance
Felicia Dorothea Hemans 1793 (Liverpool, Lancashire) – 1835 (Dublin, County Dublin)
There were thick leaves above me and around,
And low sweet sighs like those of childhood's sleep,
Amidst their dimness, and a fitful sound
As of soft showers on water; dark and deep
Lay the oak shadows o'er the turf, so still
They seem'd but pictured glooms: a hidden rill
Made music, such as haunts us in a dream,
Under the fern-tufts; and a tender gleam
Of soft green light, as by the glow-worm shed,
Came pouring thro' the woven beech-boughs down,
And steep'd the magic page wherein I read
Of royal chivalry and old renown,
A tale of Palestine. Meanwhile the bee
Swept past me with a tone of summer hours,
A drowsy bugle, wafting thoughts of flowers,
Blue skies, and amber sunshine: brightly free,
On filmy wings the purple dragon-fly
Shot glancing like a fairy javelin by;
And a sweet voice of sorrow told the dell
Where sat the lone wood-pigeon:
But ere long,
All sense of these things faded, as the spell
Breathing from that high gorgeous tale grew strong
On my chain'd soul: 'twas not the leaves I heard
A Syrian wind the Lion-banner stirr'd,
Thro' its proud, floating folds: 'twas not the brook,
Singing in secret thro' its grassy glen;
A wild shrill trumpet of the Saracen
Peal'd from the desert's lonely heart, and shook
The burning air. Like clouds when winds are high,
O'er glittering sands flew steeds of Araby,
And tents rose up, and sudden lance and spear
Flash'd where a fountain's diamond wave lay clear,
Shadow'd by graceful palm-trees. Then the shout
Of merry England's joy swell'd freely out,
Sent thro' an eastern heaven, whose glorious hue
Made shields dark mirrors to its depths of blue:
And harps were there; I heard their sounding strings,
As the waste echoed to the mirth of kings.
The bright masque faded. Unto life's worn track,
What call'd me from its flood of glory, back?
A voice of happy childhood! and they pass'd,
Banner, and harp, and Paynim's trumpet's blast;
Yet might I scarce bewail the splendours gone,
My heart so leap'd to that sweet laughter's tone.
Scheme | ABABCCDD EFEFGHHGIIJXKJKLLMXFMIGNNOOPPQQRRSSXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (22%) |
Metre | 1011011001 011111111 011100101 11110110101 1011100111 1111010101 1101111001 1001100101 1111110111 1101010111 0101010111 1101000101 01110101 11110111010 01010101110 110101101 111010101 11010101001 0011110101 1101110 111 1111110101 1011110111 1111110111 01001010101 1111011101 1001011101 01110101 110110101 0101111111 1010011111 0111010101 110110111 1011011101 1101011101 111101011001 1111011111 0101111101 1011010111 0111010111 1111111101 011101011 10010111 11111011 111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,956 |
Words | 353 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 37 |
Lines Amount | 45 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 777 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 176 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:52 min read
- 133 Views
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"An Hour Of Romance" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13480/an-hour-of-romance>.
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