Analysis of To Mary Who Died In This Opinion

Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792 (Horsham) – 1822 (Lerici)



I.
Maiden, quench the glare of sorrow
Struggling in thine haggard eye:
Firmness dare to borrow
From the wreck of destiny;
For the ray morn’s bloom revealing
Can never boast so bright an hue
As that which mocks concealing,
And sheds its loveliest light on you.

II.
Yet is the tie departed
Which bound thy lovely soul to bliss?
Has it left thee broken-hearted
In a world so cold as this?
Yet, though, fainting fair one,
Sorrow’s self thy cup has given,
Dream thou’lt meet thy dear one,
Never more to part, in Heaven.

III.
Existence would I barter
For a dream so dear as thine,
And smile to die a martyr
On affection's bloodless shrine.
Nor would I change for pleasure
That withered hand and ashy cheek,
If my heart enshrined a treasure
Such as forces thine to break.


Scheme ABABXCDCD AEFEFGGGG AHIHIHXHX
Poetic Form
Metre 1 10101110 10001101 10111 1011100 10111010 11011111 1111010 0111111 1 1101010 11110111 11111010 0011111 111011 10111110 111111 10111010 1 0101110 1011111 0111010 11101 1111110 11010101 11101010 1110111
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 754
Words 142
Sentences 10
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 9, 9, 9
Lines Amount 27
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 200
Words per stanza (avg) 47
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 02, 2023

42 sec read
56

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is regarded by critics as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. more…

All Percy Bysshe Shelley poems | Percy Bysshe Shelley Books

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