Analysis of Ballade Of The Muse
Andrew Lang 1844 (Selkirk, Scottish Borders) – 1912 (Banchory)
The man whom once, Melpomene,
Thou look'st on with benignant sight,
Shall never at the Isthmus be
A boxer eminent in fight,
Nor fares he foremost in the flight
Of Grecian cars to victory,
Nor goes with Delian laurels dight,
The man thou lov'st, Melpomene!
Not him the Capitol shall see,
As who hath crush'd the threats and might
Of monarchs, march triumphantly;
But Fame shall crown him, in his right
Of all the Roman lyre that smite
The first; so woods of Tivoli
Proclaim him, so her waters bright,
The man thou lov'st, Melpomene!
The sons of queenly Rome count ME,
Me too, with them whose chants delight, -
The poets' kindly company;
Now broken is the tooth of spite,
But thou, that temperest aright
The golden lyre, all, all to thee
He owes--life, fame, and fortune's height -
The man thou lov'st, Melpomene!
Queen, that to mute lips could'st unite
The wild swan's dying melody!
Thy gifts, ah! how shall he requite -
The man thou lov'st, Melpomene?
Scheme | abcbbcbA cbcbbcbA cbabbcbA bcbA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01111 1111111 11010101 01010001 1111001 11011100 1111101 01111 11010011 11110101 1110100 11111011 11010111 01111100 01110101 01111 0111111 11111101 01010100 11010111 11111 01011111 11110101 01111 11111111 01110100 1111111 01111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 938 |
Words | 173 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 183 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 43 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 45 Views
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