Analysis of For Thee
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt 1840 (Petworth House) – 1922 (United Kingdom)
What woes are there
I would not choose to bear
For thy dear sake?
Curses were blest, the ache
Of sorrow's scourging and grief's crown of care.
All pain were dear to me,
But it must be
For thee.
A sun grown cold,
Earth wrapped in vaporous fold,
The corn--flowers' head
Robbed of their blue and red,
The buttercups and daisies of their gold.
This could I choose to see,
But it must be
For thee.
The notes unheard
Of lark and piping bird,
Or else their songs
Replaced by harsher tongues,
No voice to sing to me or speak a word.
This too were joy to me,
But it must be
For thee.
A life alone,
One left with others gone,
A mourning house,
Where none moves but the mouse
Or knows the secret of its pale guests flown.
Grief's tears were sweet to me,
But it must be
For thee.
Night without sleep,
Slow hours that halt and creep,
A cheerless bed
Where Love nor lays his head
Nor looks with pity on blind eyes that weep.
Watching were rest to me,
But it must be
For thee.
Passion, once sure,
With vain expense grown poor,
Cheeks ruddy white
Now crocussed with affright,
And Love the guest all coldly shown the door.
Love's loss were gain to me,
But it must be
For thee.
Glory forsworn,
The World's praise changed to scorn,
Silence of friends,
Foes gaining all their ends
Through fault of fortune and my sword undrawn.
Hatred were love to me,
But it must be
For thee.
Life's purpose vast
Turned to base ends and cast
On lines of ill
Which faltering downward still
Shall topple headlong to the gulf at last.
Life's shame were pride to me,
But it must be
For thee.
A guarded cell,
Where crime and madness dwell,
Where murder creeps
And maniac laughter weeps,
With the undying worm for last farewell.
There let me die, sad me,
But it must be
For thee.
O Soul of mine!
Thou wert a thing divine,
But made in vain.
Then be thou broke in twain
And spilled upon time's empty sands like wine.
My soul no Heaven would see,
But it must be
For thee.
Scheme | aabbacCC ddeedcCC ffxxfcCC gxhhgcCC iieeicCC xxxdxcCC jjkkgcCC llmmlcCC nnooncCC ppqqpcCC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (40%) Etheree (31%) |
Metre | 1111 111111 1111 100101 111001111 110111 1111 11 0111 11011 01101 111101 010010111 111111 1111 11 0101 110101 1111 11101 1111111101 110111 1111 11 0101 111101 0101 111101 1101011111 110111 1111 11 1011 1101101 011 111111 1111011111 100111 1111 11 1011 110111 1101 1111 0101110101 110111 1111 11 101 011111 1011 110111 111100111 100111 1111 11 1101 111101 1111 1100101 110110111 110111 1111 11 0101 110101 1101 010101 100101111 111111 1111 11 1111 110101 1101 111101 0101110111 1111011 1111 11 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,855 |
Words | 373 |
Sentences | 24 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 80 |
Letters per line (avg) | 19 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 149 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 37 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:54 min read
- 68 Views
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"For Thee" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/38721/for-thee>.
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