Analysis of The Spirit Of Shakespeare

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



Thy greatest knew thee, Mother Earth; unsoured
He knew thy sons. He probed from hell to hell
Of human passions, but of love deflowered
His wisdom was not, for he knew thee well.
Thence came the honeyed corner at his lips,
The conquering smile wherein his spirit sails
Calm as the God who the white sea-wave whips,
Yet full of speech and intershifting tales,
Close mirrors of us: thence had he the laugh
We feel is thine: broad as ten thousand beeves
At pasture! thence thy songs, that winnow chaff
From grain, bid sick Philosophy's last leaves
Whirl, if they have no response-they enforced
To fatten Earth when from her soul divorced.


Scheme ABABCDCDECEFAA
Poetic Form
Metre 110111011 1111111111 110101111 1101111111 110110111 01001011101 1101101111 1111011 1101111101 1111111101 110111111 1111111 1111101101 1101110101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 642
Words 114
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 36
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 504
Words per stanza (avg) 112
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

34 sec read
77

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

1 fan

Discuss this George Meredith poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Spirit Of Shakespeare" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15660/the-spirit-of-shakespeare>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    18
    hours
    16
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "A Dream Within A Dream"?
    A Percy Bysshe Shelley
    B Elizabeth Barrett Browning
    C Edgar Allan Poe
    D William Blake