Analysis of The Song of the Cicadas
Roderic Quinn 1867 (Surry Hills, New South Wales) – 1949 (Darlinghurst, New South Wales)
Yesterday there came to me
from a green and graceful tree
as I loitered listlessly
nothing doing, nothing caring,
light and warmth and fragrance sharing
with the butterfly and the bee,
while the sapling-tops a-glisten
danced and trembled, wild and willing
such a sudden sylvan shrilling
that I could not choose but listen
Green Cicadas, Black Cicadas,
happy in the gracious weather,
Floury-baker, Double-Drummer,
all as one and all together,
how they voiced the golden summer.
Stealing back there came to me
as I loitered listlessly
'neath the green and graceful tree,
nothing doing, nothing caring,
boyhood moments spent in sharing
with the butterfly and the bee
youth and freedom, warmth and glamour
while Cicadas round me shrilling,
set the sleepy noontide thrilling
with their keen insistent clamour.
Green Cicadas, Black cicadas,
happy in the gracious weather
Floury-bakers, double-drummers
all as one and all together---
how they voice the bygone summers!
Scheme | aaABbAcbbcDEeEe aAaBbAebbe DEfEf |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (23%) |
Metre | 101111 1010101 111100 10101010 10101010 1010001 10101010 10101010 1010101 11111110 10101010 10001010 1101010 11101010 11101010 1011111 111100 1010101 10101010 1101010 1010001 10101010 1010111 1010110 1110101 10101010 10001010 1101010 11101010 1110110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 969 |
Words | 153 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 15, 10, 5 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 260 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 50 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 28, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 136 Views
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