Analysis of Song: Rarely, rarely, comest thou
Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792 (Horsham) – 1822 (Lerici)
Rarely, rarely, comest thou,
Spirit of Delight!
Wherefore hast thou left me now
Many a day and night?
Many a weary night and day
'Tis since thou are fled away.
How shall ever one like me
Win thee back again?
With the joyous and the free
Thou wilt scoff at pain.
Spirit false! thou hast forgot
All but those who need thee not.
As a lizard with the shade
Of a trembling leaf,
Thou with sorrow art dismay'd;
Even the sighs of grief
Reproach thee, that thou art not near,
And reproach thou wilt not hear.
Let me set my mournful ditty
To a merry measure;
Thou wilt never come for pity,
Thou wilt come for pleasure;
Pity then will cut away
Those cruel wings, and thou wilt stay.
I love all that thou lovest,
Spirit of Delight!
The fresh Earth in new leaves dress'd,
And the starry night;
Autumn evening, and the morn
When the golden mists are born.
I love snow, and all the forms
Of the radiant frost;
I love waves, and winds, and storms,
Everything almost
Which is Nature's, and may be
Untainted by man's misery.
I love tranquil solitude,
And such society
As is quiet, wise, and good;
Between thee and me
What difference? but thou dost possess
The things I seek, not love them less.
I love Love--though he has wings,
And like light can flee,
But above all other things,
Spirit, I love thee--
Thou art love and life! Oh come,
Make once more my heart thy home.
Scheme | aBabcc dxdxee fgfgxx dhdhcc bBxbii jxjxdd xdxdkk ldldxx |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101011 10101 111111 100101 10010101 1111101 1110111 11101 1010001 11111 1011101 1111111 1010101 101001 1110101 100111 01111111 0011111 11111010 101010 11101110 111110 1011101 11010111 111111 10101 0110111 00101 1010001 1010111 1110101 101001 1110101 101 1110011 01011100 111010 010100 1110101 01101 110011101 01111111 1111111 01111 1011101 10111 1110111 1111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,490 |
Words | 257 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 130 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 32 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 23, 2023
- 1:18 min read
- 158 Views
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"Song: Rarely, rarely, comest thou" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/29232/song%3A-rarely%2C-rarely%2C-comest-thou>.
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