A Sea-Spell
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828 (London) – 1882 (Birchington-on-Sea)
(For one of his own pictures)
Her lute hangs shadowed in the apple-tree,
While flashing fingers weave the sweet-strung spell
Between its chords; and as the wild notes swell,
The sea-bird for those branches leaves the sea.
But to what sound her listening ear stoops she?
What netherworld gulf-whispers doth she hear,
In answering echoes from what planisphere,
Along the wind, along the estuary?
She sinks into her spell: and when full soon
Her lips move and she soars into her song,
What creatures of the midmost main shall throng
In furrowed self-clouds to the summoning rune,
Till he, the fated mariner, hears her cry,
And up her rock, bare breasted, comes to die?
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 76 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | X ABBAAXAACDDCEE |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 659 |
Words | 116 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 14 |
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"A Sea-Spell" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/7479/a-sea-spell>.
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