Analysis of Epilogue:XXI 'Tristram of Lyonesse'

Algernon Charles Swinburne 1837 (London) – 1909 (London)



OUR MOTHER, which wast twice, as history saith,
Found first among the nations: once, when she
Who bore thine ensign saw the God in thee
Smite Spain, and bring forth Shakespeare: once, when death
Shrank, and Rome’s bloodhounds cowered, at Milton’s breath:
More than thy place, then first among the free,
More than that sovereign lordship of the sea
Bequeathed to Cromwell from Elizabeth,
More than thy fiery guiding- star, which Drake
Hailed, and the deep saw lit again for Blake,
More than all deeds wrought of thy strong right hand,
This praise keeps most thy fame’s memorial strong,
That thou wast head of all these streams of song,
And time bows down to thee as Shakespeare’s land.


Scheme ABAAABBACCDEED
Poetic Form
Metre 101011111001 1101010111 1111010101 110111111 101101111 1111110101 111101101 0111010100 11110010111 1001110111 1111111111 11111101001 1111111111 011111111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 687
Words 120
Sentences 2
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 39
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 541
Words per stanza (avg) 118
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

36 sec read
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Algernon Charles Swinburne

Algernon Charles Swinburne was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as Poems and Ballads, and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. Swinburne wrote about many taboo topics, such as lesbianism, cannibalism, sado-masochism, and anti-theism. His poems have many common motifs, such as the ocean, time, and death. Several historical people are featured in his poems, such as Sappho ("Sapphics"), Anactoria ("Anactoria"), Jesus ("Hymn to Proserpine": Galilaee, La. "Galilean") and Catullus ("To Catullus"). more…

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