Analysis of George Gray
Edgar Lee Masters 1868 (Garnett) – 1950 (Elkins Park)
I have studied many times
The marble which was chiseled for me --
A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor.
In truth it pictures not my destination
But my life.
For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment;
Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid;
Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances.
Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life.
And now I know that we must lift the sail
And catch the winds of destiny
Wherever they drive the boat.
To put meaning in one's life may end in madness,
But life without meaning is the torture
Of restlessness and vague desire --
It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.
Scheme | ABCDEFGHEIBJKCCG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1110101 010111011 011011110010 0111011010 111 111101011110100 10111111101 0101111110010 110111110011 0111111101 01011100 0101101 111001111010 1101101010 110001010 1101101010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 646 |
Words | 131 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 16 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 509 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 129 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 24, 2023
- 39 sec read
- 274 Views
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"George Gray" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/8578/george-gray>.
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