Analysis of Art The Lonely
Anna Johnston MacManus 1864 (Ballymena) – 1902 (Donegal)
The berried quicken-branches lament in lonely sighs,
Through open doorways of the dún a lonely wet wind cries,
And lonely in the hall he sits with feasting warriors round,
The harp that lauds his fame in fights hath a lonely sound,
The press of battle and the clang of striking spears
Set a lonely echo ringing for ever in his ears;
Amid the hunting-band he goes dream-stricken in the dawn–
The red deer and the baying hounds seem phantoms hurrying on.
The speckled salmon, too, darts lonely in the pool,
The swan floats lonely with her brood in shallows cool,
His steeds–the swift and gentle–are lonely in their stall,
The sorrow of his loneliness weighs heavy over all.
For in the house of Tara three shadows share the feast,
Conn sits within the High-King's place, against the East,
And Crionna whispers to his hound some memory of the chase,
While Connla to the harping turns a joyous listening face.
Ah, woe! the cairn is over Conn–his hundred battles done,
And in his sleeping Crionna lies, hidden from the sun;
But on a blue mysterious wave Prince Connla sailed away,
Nor hath an eye in Éire beheld him since that day.
His yellow hair hath silver stars to crown it now,
And silver blossoms kiss his cheek at bending of the bough,
And the spell that lays forgetfulness of earth on earthly things
Blows sweetly down enchanted air from whirring fairy wings.
: : : : : : : :
Yet Art the King waits ever a footfall on the floor,
A radiant form between the carven pillars of his door,
His druids in their praying chant softly Connla's name.
And Crionna's boyish beauty, and Conn's enduring fame.
For sake of these his yearning heart to welcome Death is fain,
His hand moves idly at the chess; joy spreads its lure in vain;
His grieving gaze is seeking from morn till eventide
The eyes of two who sleep the Sleep; and of one who never died.
Scheme | AABB CCXX DDEE FFGG HHII JJKK LLMM NNBX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 011010010101 11011011010111 010001111101001 0111110110101 011100011101 10101010110011 01010111110001 011001011101001 010101110001 01110101011 1101010110011 01011100110101 100111011101 110101110101 01101111100101 11101010101001 11011101110101 001101110101 11010100111101 11110111111 110111011111 01010111110101 001111111101 11010101110101 1 110111001101 01001010110111 110011011011 011010010101 11111101110111 11110101111101 11011101111 011111010111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 1,834 |
Words | 329 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 1, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 33 |
Letters per line (avg) | 44 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 161 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 37 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:40 min read
- 67 Views
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"Art The Lonely" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42638/art-the-lonely>.
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