Analysis of Dedication To Joseph Mazzini
Algernon Charles Swinburne 1837 (London) – 1909 (London)
Take, since you bade it should bear,
These, of the seed of your sowing,
Blossom or berry or weed.
Sweet though they be not, or fair,
That the dew of your word kept growing,
Sweet at least was the seed.
Men bring you love-offerings of tears,
And sorrow the kiss that assuages,
And slaves the hate-offering of wrongs,
And time the thanksgiving of years,
And years the thanksgiving of ages;
I bring you my handful of songs.
If a perfume be left, if a bloom,
Let it live till Italia be risen,
To be strewn in the dust of her car
When her voice shall awake from the tomb
England, and France from her prison,
Sisters, a star by a star.
I bring you the sword of a song,
The sword of my spirit's desire,
Feeble; but laid at your feet,
That which was weak shall be strong,
That which was cold shall take fire,
That which was bitter be sweet.
It was wrought not with hands to smite,
Nor hewn after swordsmiths' fashion,
Nor tempered on anvil of steel;
But with visions and dreams of the night,
But with hope, and the patience of passion,
And the signet of love for a seal.
Be it witness, till one more strong,
Till a loftier lyre, till a rarer
Lute praise her better than I,
Be it witness before you, my song,
That I knew her, the world's banner-bearer,
Who shall cry the republican cry.
Yea, even she as at first,
Yea, she alone and none other,
Shall cast down, shall build up, shall bring home;
Slake earth's hunger and thirst,
Lighten, and lead as a mother;
First name of the world's names, Rome.
Scheme | ABCABC DDEXXE FGHFGH IJKIJK CGLXGL IJMIJM NJONJO |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111111 11011110 1011011 1111111 101111110 111101 111110011 0100111 010110011 0101011 01010110 1111111 100111101 11110100110 111001101 101101101 10011010 1001101 11101101 011110010 1011111 1111111 11111110 1111011 11111111 1110110 11011011 111001101 1110010110 001011101 11101111 1010011010 1101011 111001111 1110011010 111001001 1101111 11010110 111111111 111001 10011010 1110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,554 |
Words | 285 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 42 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 163 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 40 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:26 min read
- 80 Views
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"Dedication To Joseph Mazzini" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1304/dedication-to-joseph-mazzini>.
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