Analysis of A Fragment



They say that poison-sprinkled flowers
Are sweeter in perfume
Than when, untouched by deadly dew,
They glowed in early bloom.

They say that men condemned to die
Have quaffed the sweetened wine
With higher relish than the juice
Of the untampered vine.

They say that in the witch's song,
Though rude and harsh it be,
There blends a wild, mysterious strain
Of weirdest melody.

And I believe the devil's voice
Sinks deeper in our ear
Than any whisper sent from Heaven,
However sweet and clear.


Scheme XAXA XBXB XCXC XXXX
Poetic Form Quatrain  (75%)
Metre 111101010 110001 11011101 110101 11110111 110101 11010101 1011 11100101 110111 110101001 110100 01010101 1100101 110101110 10101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 482
Words 87
Sentences 5
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 98
Words per stanza (avg) 21
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

26 sec read
43

Adam Lindsay Gordon

Adam Lindsay Gordon was an Australian poet, jockey and politician. more…

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