Analysis of Moon-Light

Felicia Dorothea Hemans 1793 (Liverpool, Lancashire) – 1835 (Dublin, County Dublin)



COME, gentle muse! now all is calm,
The dew descends, the air is balm;
Unruffled is the glassy deep,
While moon-beams o'er its bosom sleep;
The gale of summer mildly blows,
The wave in soothing murmur flows;
Unclouded Vesper shines on high,
And ev'ry flow'r has clos'd its tearful eye.

Oh! at this hour, this placid hour,
Soft music, wake thy magic pow'r!
Be mine to hear thy dulcet measure,
Thy warbling strains, that whisper, pleasure;
Thy heavenly airs, of cadence dying,
And harp to every zephyr sighing;
When roving by the shadowy beam,
That gilds the fairy-bow'r and woodland-stream!

But all is still! no mellow sound
Floats on the breeze of night around ;
Yet fancy, with some airy spell,
Can wake 'sweet Echo' from her cell;
Can charm her pensive votary's ear,
With plaintive numbers melting near;
And bid celestial spirits rise,
To pour their wild, enchanted melodies.

I love the rosy dawn of day,
When Zephyr wakes the laughing May;
I love the summer-evening's close,
That lulls the mind in calm repose;
But sweeter far the hour serene,
When softer colours paint the scene;
When Vesper sheds a dewy ray,
And o'er the sleeping wave the moon-beams play.


Scheme AABBCCDD EXEEFFGG HHIIXXXX JJXCKKJJ
Poetic Form
Metre 11011111 01010111 01010101 111101101 01110101 01010101 110111 0111111101 1111011010 110111011 111111010 1100111010 1100111010 0111001010 110101001 1101011011 11111101 11011101 11011101 11110101 1101011 11010101 01010101 1111010100 11010111 11010101 11010101 11010101 110101001 1101101 11010101 01001010111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,138
Words 202
Sentences 9
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 226
Words per stanza (avg) 50
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:03 min read
83

Felicia Dorothea Hemans

Felicia Dorothea Hemans was an English poet. Two of her opening lines, "The boy stood on the burning deck" and "The stately homes of England", have acquired classic status. more…

All Felicia Dorothea Hemans poems | Felicia Dorothea Hemans Books

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