Analysis of The dream-ship
Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)
When the world is fast asleep,
Along the midnight skies--
As though it were a wandering cloud--
The ghostly dream-ship flies.
An angel stands at the dream-ship's helm,
An angel stands at the prow,
And an angel stands at the dream-ship's side
With a rue-wreath on her brow.
The other angels, silver-crowned,
Pilot and helmsman are,
And the angel with the wreath of rue
Tosseth the dreams afar.
The dreams they fall on rich and poor;
They fall on young and old;
And some are dreams of poverty,
And some are dreams of gold.
And some are dreams that thrill with joy,
And some that melt to tears;
Some are dreams of the dawn of love,
And some of the old dead years.
On rich and poor alike they fall,
Alike on young and old,
Bringing to slumbering earth their joys
And sorrows manifold.
The friendless youth in them shall do
The deeds of mighty men,
And drooping age shall feel the grace
Of buoyant youth again.
The king shall be a beggarman--
The pauper be a king--
In that revenge or recompense
The dream-ship dreams do bring.
So ever downward float the dreams
That are for all and me,
And there is never mortal man
Can solve that mystery.
But ever onward in its course
Along the haunted skies--
As though it were a cloud astray--
The ghostly dream-ship flies.
Two angels with their silver crowns
Pilot and helmsman are,
And an angel with a wreath of rue
Tosseth the dreams afar.
Scheme | xaxA xbxb xCdC xefe xxxx xexe dgxg ghxh xfxf xaxA xCdC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (91%) |
Metre | 1011101 01011 111001001 010111 110110111 1101101 0110110111 1011101 01010101 10011 001010111 10101 01111101 111101 01111100 011111 01111111 011111 11110111 0110111 11010111 011101 101100111 01010 0110111 011101 01011101 110101 011101 010101 0101110 011111 11010101 111101 01110101 111100 11010011 010101 11100101 010111 11011101 10011 011010111 10101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,406 |
Words | 255 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 44 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 98 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 1:17 min read
- 240 Views
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