Analysis of The Plateau
Claude McKay 1889 (Clarendon Parish) – 1948 (Chicago)
It was the silver, heart-enveloping view
Of the mysterious sea-line far away,
Seen only on a gleaming gold-white day,
That made it dear and beautiful to you.
And Laura loved it for the little hill,
Where the quartz sparkled fire, barren and dun,
Whence in the shadow of the dying sun,
She contemplated Hallow's wooden mill.
While Danny liked the sheltering high grass,
In which he lay upon a clear dry night,
To hear and see, screened skilfully from sight,
The happy lovers of the valley pass.
But oh! I loved it for the big round moon
That swung out of the clouds and swooned aloft,
Burning with passion, gloriously soft,
Lighting the purple flowers of fragrant June.
Scheme | ABBA CDDC EFFE GXXG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (75%) |
Metre | 11010101001 10010011101 1101010111 1111010011 0101110101 10110101001 100110101 11001101 1101010011 0111010111 11011111 0101010101 1111110111 1111010101 1011010001 10010101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 676 |
Words | 120 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 132 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 30 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 36 sec read
- 91 Views
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"The Plateau" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6896/the-plateau>.
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