Analysis of Travel
Robert Louis Stevenson 1850 (Edinburgh) – 1894 (Vailima, Samoa)
I should like to rise and go
Where the golden apples grow;--
Where below another sky
Parrot islands anchored lie,
And, watched by cockatoos and goats,
Lonely Crusoes building boats;--
Where in sunshine reaching out
Eastern cities, miles about,
Are with mosque and minaret
Among sandy gardens set,
And the rich goods from near and far
Hang for sale in the bazaar;--
Where the Great Wall round China goes,
And on one side the desert blows,
And with the voice and bell and drum,
Cities on the other hum;--
Where are forests hot as fire,
Wide as England, tall as a spire,
Full of apes and cocoa-nuts
And the negro hunters' huts;--
Where the knotty crocodile
Lies and blinks in the Nile,
And the red flamingo flies
Hunting fish before his eyes;--
Where in jungles near and far,
Man-devouring tigers are,
Lying close and giving ear
Lest the hunt be drawing near,
Or a comer-by be seen
Swinging in the palanquin;--
Where among the desert sands
Some deserted city stands,
All its children, sweep and prince,
Grown to manhood ages since,
Not a foot in street or house,
Not a stir of child or mouse,
And when kindly falls the night,
In all the town no spark of light.
There I'll come when I'm a man
With a camel caravan;
Light a fire in the gloom
Of some dusty dining-room;
See the pictures on the walls,
Heroes fights and festivals;
And in a corner find the toys
Of the old Egyptian boys.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIJKKLLMMFFNOPPQQRRSSTTUUVVWXYY |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111101 1010101 1010101 1010101 0111001 101101 101101 1010101 111001 0110101 00111101 1110001 10111101 01110101 01010101 1010101 11101110 11101101 1110101 0010101 101010 101001 0010101 1010111 1010101 10100101 1010101 1011101 1010111 10001 1010101 1010101 1110101 111101 1010111 1011111 0110101 01011111 1111101 101010 1010001 1110101 1010101 1010100 00010101 1010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,387 |
Words | 261 |
Sentences | 3 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 46 |
Lines Amount | 46 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,071 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 252 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 10, 2023
- 1:18 min read
- 335 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Travel" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/31745/travel>.
Discuss this Robert Louis Stevenson 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