Analysis of The Physical Conscience
Ada Cambridge 1844 (St Germans, Norfolk) – 1926 (Melbourne)
The moral conscience — court of last appeal —
Our word of God — our Heaven- sent light and guide —
From what high aims it lures our steps aside!
To what immoral deeds it sets its seal!
That beacon lamp has lost its sacred fire;
That pilot- guide, compelling wind and wave,
By slow, blind process, has become the slave
Of all- compelling custom and desire.
Not so the conscience of the body. This,
Untamed and true, still speaks in voice and face,
In cold lips stiffened to the loveless kiss,
In shamed limbs shrinking from unloved embrace,
In love- born passion, that no laws compel,
Nor gold can purchase, nor ambition sell.
Scheme | ABBACDDC EFEFGG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101011101 1011110101101 11111110101 1101011111 11011111010 1101010101 111110101 11010100010 1101010101 101110101 0111010101 0111010101 0111011101 1111010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 628 |
Words | 116 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 243 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 57 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 61 Views
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"The Physical Conscience" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/115/the-physical-conscience>.
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