Analysis of Sestina
Algernon Charles Swinburne 1837 (London) – 1909 (London)
I saw my soul at rest upon a day
As a bird sleeping in the nest of night,
Among soft leaves that give the starlight way
To touch its wings but not its eyes with light;
So that it knew as one in visions may,
And knew not as men waking, of delight.
This was the measure of my soul's delight;
It had no power of joy to fly by day,
Nor part in the large lordship of the light;
But in a secret moon-beholden way
Had all its will of dreams and pleasant night,
And all the love and life that sleepers may.
But such life's triumph as men waking may
It might not have to feed its faint delight
Between the stars by night and sun by day,
Shut up with green leaves and a little light;
Because its way was as a lost star's way,
A world's not wholly known of day or night.
All loves and dreams and sounds and gleams of night
Made it all music that such minstrels may,
And all they had they gave it of delight;
But in the full face of the fire of day
What place shall be for any starry light,
What part of heaven in all the wide sun's way?
Yet the soul woke not, sleeping by the way,
Watched as a nursling of the large-eyed night,
And sought no strength nor knowledge of the day,
Nor closer touch conclusive of delight,
Nor mightier joy nor truer than dreamers may,
Nor more of song than they, nor more of light.
For who sleeps once and sees the secret light
Whereby sleep shows the soul a fairer way
Between the rise and rest of day and night,
Shall care no more to fare as all men may,
But be his place of pain or of delight,
There shall he dwell, beholding night as day.
Song, have thy day and take thy fill of light
Before the night be fallen across thy way;
Sing while he may, man hath no long delight.
Scheme | ABABAB BABABA ABABAB BABABA ABABAB BABABA BAB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111110101 1011000111 011111011 1111111111 1111110101 0111110101 1101011101 11110111111 110011101 1001010101 1111110101 0101011101 1111011101 1111111101 0101110111 1111100101 0111110111 0111011111 1101010111 1111011101 0111111101 10011101011 1111110101 11110010111 1011110101 110110111 0111110101 1101010101 110011101101 1111111111 1111010101 0111010101 0101011101 1111111111 1111111101 1111010111 1111011111 01011100111 1111111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,701 |
Words | 344 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 3 |
Lines Amount | 39 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 187 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 49 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 12, 2023
- 1:44 min read
- 232 Views
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"Sestina" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1393/sestina>.
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