Analysis of From Lightning and Tempest
Adam Lindsay Gordon 1833 – 1870
The spring-wind pass'd through the forest, and whispered low in the leaves,
And the cedar toss'd her head, and the oak stood firm in his pride ;
The spring-wind pass'd through the town, through the housetops, casements, and eaves,
And whisper'd low in the hearts of the men, and the men replied,
Singing—'Let us rejoice in the light
Of our glory, and beauty, and might ;
Let us follow our own devices, and foster our own desires.
As firm as our oaks in our pride, as our cedars fair in our sight,
We stand like the trees of the forest that brave the frosts and the fires.'
The storm went forth to the forest, the plague went forth to the town,
And the men fell down to the plague, as the trees fell down to the gale ;
And their bloom was a ghastly pallor, and their smile was a ghastly frown,
And the song of their hearts was changed to a wild, disconsolate wail,
Crying—'God ! we have sinn'd, we have sinn'd,
We are bruised, we are shorn, we are thinn'd,
Our strength is turn'd to derision, our pride laid low in the dust,
Our cedars are cleft by Thy lightnings, our oaks are strew'd by Thy wind,
And we fall on our faces seeking Thine aid, though Thy wrath is just.'
Scheme | ABABCCDCD EFEFGGHXH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 011110100101001 001010100111011 0111101101101 010100110100101 101101001 1101001001 1110101010010101010 11110101011101010101 11101101011010010 011110100111101 0011110110111101 0111010101110101 0011111110111 101111111 111111111 10111101010111001 101011111010111111 01111010101111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 1,164 |
Words | 223 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 9 |
Lines Amount | 18 |
Letters per line (avg) | 50 |
Words per line (avg) | 12 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 446 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 112 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:09 min read
- 85 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"From Lightning and Tempest" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/158/from-lightning-and-tempest>.
Discuss this Adam Lindsay Gordon poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In