Analysis of The Unattained
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
A vision beauteous as the morn,
With heavenly eyes and tresses streaming,
Slow glided o'er a field late shorn
Where walked a poet idly dreaming.
He saw her, and joy lit his face.
"Oh, vanish not at human speaking,"
He cried, "thou form of magic grace,
Thou art the poem I am seeking.
"I've sought thee long! I claim thee now---
My thought embodied, living, real."
She shook the tresses from her brow.
"Nay, nay!" she said, "I am ideal.
I am the phantom of desire---
The spirit of all great endeavour,
I am the voice that says, 'Come higher.'
That calls men up and up for ever.
"'Tis not alone the thought supreme
That here upon thy path has risen;
I am the artist's highest dream,
The ray of light he cannot prison.
I am the sweet ecstatic note
Than all glad music gladder, clearer,
That trembles in the singer's throat,
And dies without a human hearer.
"I am the greater, better yield,
That leads and cheers thy farmer neighbour,
For me he bravely tills the field
And whistles gaily at his labour.
Not thou alone, O poet soul,
Dost seek me through an endless morrow,
But to the toiling, hoping whole
I am at once the hope and sorrow.
The spirit of the unattained,
I am to those who seek to name me,
A good desired but never gained.
All shall pursue, but none shall claim me."
Scheme | ABABCBCB DEDEFFFF GHGHIFIF JFJXKLKLIMXM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101101 1100101010 110100111 110101010 11001111 110111010 11111101 110101110 11111111 11010101 11010101 11111101 110101010 010111010 110111110 111101110 11010101 110111110 11010101 011111010 11010101 11110110 1100101 010101010 11010101 11011101 11110101 01010111 11011101 111111010 11010101 111101010 010101 111111111 010101101 110111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,281 |
Words | 246 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 12 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 243 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 60 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:13 min read
- 58 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Unattained" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10922/the-unattained>.
Discuss this Ella Wheeler Wilcox poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In