Analysis of A Later Alexandrian

George Meredith 1828 (Portsmouth, Hampshire) – 1909 (Box Hill, Surrey)



An inspiration caught from dubious hues
Filled him, and mystic wrynesses he chased;
For they lead farther than the single-faced,
Wave subtler promise when desire pursues.
The moon of cloud discoloured was his Muse,
His pipe the reed of the old moaning waste.
Love was to him with anguish fast enlaced,
And Beauty where she walked blood-shot the dews.
Men railed at such a singer; women thrilled
Responsively: he sang not Nature's own
Divinest, but his lyric had a tone,
As 'twere a forest-echo of her voice:
What barrenly they yearn for seemed distilled
From what they dread, who do through tears rejoice.


Scheme ABBAABBACDDECE
Poetic Form
Metre 1010111001 11010111 1111010101 110010101001 01111111 1101101101 111111011 0101111101 1111010101 1111101 11110101 1101010101 11111101 1111111101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 600
Words 105
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 483
Words per stanza (avg) 103
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

31 sec read
64

George Meredith

George Meredith was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times. more…

All George Meredith poems | George Meredith Books

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