Analysis of The Colossi of the Plain

Mathilde Blind 1841 (Mannheim) – 1896 (London)



Ancient of Days! Before the Trojan Wars
You towered as now in your colossal prime,
Watching the rosy footed morning climb
O'er far Arabia's flushing mountain bars.
Despite your weird disfigurement and scars
You dwarf all other monuments. Sublime
Survivors of old Thebes! you baffle Time,
And sit in silent conclave with the Stars.

Ah, once below you through the glittering plain
Stretched avenues of Sphinxes to the Nile;
And, flanked with towers, each consecrated fane
Enshrined its god. The broken gods lie prone
In roofless halls, their hallowed terrors gone,
Helpless beneath Heaven's penetrating smile.


Scheme XAABBAAB CDCXXD
Poetic Form
Metre 1011010101 11011010101 1001010101 101010010101 0111010001 1111010001 0101111101 010101101 11011101001 11011101 0111011001 0111010111 011110101 1001101001
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 615
Words 98
Sentences 8
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 6
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 247
Words per stanza (avg) 48
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

30 sec read
95

Mathilde Blind

Mathilde Blind, was a German-born British poet. Her work was praised by Matthew Arnold and French politician and historian Louis Blanc. more…

All Mathilde Blind poems | Mathilde Blind Books

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