Fate

Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 (Boston) – 1882 (Concord)



Deep in the man sits fast his fate
To mould his fortunes, mean or great:
Unknown to Cromwell as to me
Was Cromwell's measure or degree;
Unknown to him as to his horse,
If he than his groom be better or worse.
He works, plots, fights, in rude affairs,
With squires, lords, kings, his craft compares,
Till late he learned, through doubt and fear,
Broad England harbored not his peer:
Obeying time, the last to own
The Genius from its cloudy throne.
For the prevision is allied
Unto the thing so signified;
Or say, the foresight that awaits
Is the same Genius that creates.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 24, 2023

32 sec read
101

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABBCDEEFFGGHHII
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 578
Words 106
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 16

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. more…

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    "Fate" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/29807/fate>.

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