Analysis of Eros
Algernon Charles Swinburne 1837 (London) – 1909 (London)
Eros, from rest in isles far-famed,
With rising Anthesterion rose,
And all Hellenic heights acclaimed
Eros.
The sea one pearl, the shore one rose,
All round him all the flower-month flamed
And lightened, laughing off repose.
Earth's heart, sublime and unashamed,
Knew, even perchance as man's heart knows,
The thirst of all men's nature named
Eros.
Eros, a fire of heart untamed,
A light of spirit in sense that glows,
Flamed heavenward still ere earth defamed
Eros.
Nor fear nor shame durst curb or close
His golden godhead, marred and maimed,
Fast round with bonds that burnt and froze.
Ere evil faith struck blind and lamed
Love, pure as fire or flowers or snows,
Earth hailed as blameless and unblamed
Eros.
Eros, with shafts by thousands aimed
At laughing lovers round in rows,
Fades from their sight whose tongues proclaimed
Eros.
But higher than transient shapes or shows
The light of love in life inflamed
Springs, toward no goal that these disclose.
Above those heavens which passion claimed
Shines, veiled by change that ebbs and flows,
The soul in all things born or framed,
Eros.
Scheme | abaC bab abaC abaC xab abaC abaC bab abaC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10110111 11011 01010101 10 01110111 111101011 01010101 1101001 110011111 01111101 10 10010111 011100111 1111101 10 11111111 1101101 11111101 11011101 1111011011 1111001 10 10111101 11010101 11111101 10 110110111 01110101 101111101 011101101 11111101 01011111 10 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,086 |
Words | 189 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 4 |
Lines Amount | 33 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 97 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 21 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 95 Views
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"Eros" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1313/eros>.
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