Analysis of The Portrait Of A Child
Victor Marie Hugo 1802 (Besançon) – 1885 (Paris)
That brow, that smile, that cheek so fair,
Beseem my child, who weeps and plays:
A heavenly spirit guards her ways,
From whom she stole that mixture rare.
Through all her features shining mild,
The poet sees an angel there,
The father sees a child.
And by their flame so pure and bright,
We see how lately those sweet eyes
Have wandered down from Paradise,
And still are lingering in its light.
All earthly things are but a shade
Through which she looks at things above,
And sees the holy Mother-maid,
Athwart her mother's glance of love.
She seems celestial songs to hear,
And virgin souls are whispering near.
Till by her radiant smile deceived,
I say, 'Young angel, lately given,
When was thy martyrdom achieved?
And what name lost thou bear in heaven?'
Scheme | ABBACAC DXXD EFEF XXGHGH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111111 1111101 010010101 11111101 11010101 01011101 010101 01111101 11110111 1101110 011100011 11011101 11111101 01010101 01010111 11010111 010111001 110100101 111101010 11110001 011111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 744 |
Words | 137 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 4, 4, 6 |
Lines Amount | 21 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 149 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 34 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 25, 2023
- 41 sec read
- 131 Views
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