Analysis of The Lotos-eaters
Alfred Lord Tennyson 1809 – 1892
"Courage!" he said, and pointed toward the land,
"This mounting wave will roll us shoreward soon."
In the afternoon they came unto a land
In which it seemed always afternoon.
All round the coast the languid air did swoon,
Breathing like one that hath a weary dream.
Full-faced above the valley stood the moon;
And like a downward smoke, the slender stream
Along the cliff to fall and pause and fall did seem.
A land of streams! some, like a downward smoke,
Slow-dropping veils of thinnest lawn, did go;
And some thro' wavering lights and shadows broke,
Rolling a slumbrous sheet of foam below.
They saw the gleaming river seaward flow
From the inner land: far off, three mountain-tops,
Three silent pinnacles of aged snow,
Stood sunset-flush'd: and, dew'd with showery drops,
Up-clomb the shadowy pine above the woven copse.
The charmed sunset linger'd low adown
In the red West: thro' mountain clefts the dale
Was seen far inland, and the yellow down
Border'd with palm, and many a winding vale
And meadow, set with slender galingale;
A land where all things always seem'd the same!
And round about the keel with faces pale,
Dark faces pale against that rosy flame,
The mild-eyed melancholy Lotos-eaters came.
Branches they bore of that enchanted stem,
Laden with flower and fruit, whereof they gave
To each, but whoso did receive of them,
And taste, to him the gushing of the wave
Far far away did seem to mourn and rave
On alien shores; and if his fellow spake,
His voice was thin, as voices from the grave;
And deep-asleep he seem'd, yet all awake,
And music in his ears his beating heart did make.
They sat them down upon the yellow sand,
Between the sun and moon upon the shore;
And sweet it was to dream of Fatherland,
Of child, and wife, and slave; but evermore
Most weary seem'd the sea, weary the oar,
Weary the wandering fields of barren foam.
Then some one said, "We will return no more";
And all at once they sang, "Our island home
Is far beyond the wave; we will no longer roam."CHORIC SONGI
There is sweet music here that softer falls
Than petals from blown roses on the grass,
Or night-dews on still waters between walls
Of shadowy granite, in a gleaming pass;
Music that gentlier on the spirit lies,
Than tir'd eyelids upon tir'd eyes;
Music that brings sweet sleep down from the blissful skies.
Here are cool mosses deep,
And thro' the moss the ivies creep,
And in the stream the long-leaved flowers weep,
And from the craggy ledge the poppy hangs in sleep."II
Why are we weigh'd upon with heaviness,
And utterly consumed with sharp distress,
While all things else have rest from weariness?
All things have rest: why should we toil alone,
We only toil, who are the first of things,
And make perpetual moan,
Still from one sorrow to another thrown:
Nor ever fold our wings,
And cease from wanderings,
Nor steep our brows in slumber's holy balm;
Nor harken what the inner spirit sings,
"There is no joy but calm!"
Why should we only toil, the roof and crown of things?III
Lo! in the middle of the wood,
The folded leaf is woo'd from out the bud
With winds upon the branch, and there
Grows green and broad, and takes no care,
Sun-steep'd at noon, and in the moon
Nightly dew-fed; and turning yellow
Falls, and floats adown the air.
Lo! sweeten'd with the summer light,
The full-juiced apple, waxing over-mellow,
Drops in a silent autumn night.
All its allotted length of days
The flower ripens in its place,
Ripens and fades, and falls, and hath no toil,
Fast-rooted in the fruitful soil.IV
Hateful is the dark-blue sky,
Vaulted o'er the dark-blue sea.
Death is the end of life; ah, why
Should life all labour be?
Let us alone. Time driveth onward fast,
And in a little while our lips are dumb.
Let us alone. What is it that will last?
All things are taken from us, and become
Portions and parcels of the dreadful past.
Let us alone. What pleasure can we have
To war with evil? Is there any peace
In ever climbing up the climbing wave?
All things have rest, and ripen toward the grave
In silence; ripen, fall and cease:
Give us long rest or death, dark death, or dreamful ease.V
Scheme | ABABBCBCC DEDEEFEFF BGXGGHGHH IJIJJKJKK ALALLMLMX NONOPPPQQQQ FXXRSRRSSTSTF XXUUBEUVEVXXXJ WXWXYZYZYX1 JJ1 J |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10110100101 1101111101 0001111001 0111101 1101010111 1011110101 1101010101 0101010101 010111010111 0111110101 1101110111 0111001011 100111101 1101010101 10101111101 1101111 11101111 1101001010101 0111011 0011110101 111100101 10110100101 0111101 011111101 0101011101 1101011101 0111001101 1011110101 1011001111 111110111 0111010101 1101111101 11001011101 1111110101 0101111101 010011110111 1111010101 0101010101 011111110 110101110 1101011001 10010011101 1111110111 01111110101 1101011111011 1111011101 1101110101 1111110011 11001000101 101110101 110101101 101111110101 111101 0101011 0001011101 010101010101 11110111 0100011101 1111111100 1111111101 1101110111 0101001 1111010101 1101101 011100 1110101101 1101010101 111111 111101010111 10010101 0101111101 11010101 11010111 11110001 101101010 101101 11010101 01110101010 10010101 11010111 0101011 101010111 11000101 1010111 10100111 11011111 11111 110111101 00010110111 1101111111 1111011001 1001010101 1101110111 1111011101 0101010101 11110100101 01010101 11111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 4,303 |
Words | 743 |
Sentences | 35 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15 |
Lines Amount | 98 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 354 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 82 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 03, 2023
- 3:46 min read
- 143 Views
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"The Lotos-eaters" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1090/the-lotos-eaters>.
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