Analysis of Love at Sea
Algernon Charles Swinburne 1837 (London) – 1909 (London)
WE ARE in love’s land to-day;
Where shall we go?
Love, shall we start or stay,
Or sail or row?
There’s many a wind and way,
And never a May but May;
We are in love’s hand to-day;
Where shall we go?
Our landwind is the breath
Of sorrows kissed to death
And joys that were;
Our ballast is a rose;
Our way lies where God knows
And love knows where.
We are in love’s hand to-day—
Our seamen are fledged Loves,
Our masts are bills of doves,
Our decks fine gold;
Our ropes are dead maids’ hair,
Our stores are love-shafts fair
And manifold.
We are in love’s land to-day—
Where shall we land you, sweet?
On fields of strange men’s feet,
Or fields near home?
Or where the fire-flowers blow,
Or where the flowers of snow
Or flowers of foam?
We are in love’s hand to-day—
Land me, she says, where love
Shows but one shaft, one dove,
One heart, one hand.
—A shore like that, my dear,
Lies where no man will steer,
No maiden land.
Scheme | ABabaaAB ccxddeA ffgeegA hhibbiA jjkllk |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (31%) |
Metre | 1101111 1111 111111 1111 1100101 0100111 1101111 1111 101101 110111 0110 1010101 1011111 0111 1101111 1010111 1011111 10111 1011111 1011111 010 1101111 111111 111111 1111 11010101 1101011 11011 1101111 111111 111111 1111 011111 111111 1101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 916 |
Words | 181 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 7, 7, 7, 6 |
Lines Amount | 35 |
Letters per line (avg) | 20 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 138 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 77 Views
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"Love at Sea" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1353/love-at-sea>.
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