Analysis of Excelsior
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 (Portland) – 1882 (Cambridge)
The shades of night were falling fast,
As through an Alpine village passed
A youth, who bore, 'mid snow and ice,
A banner with the strange device,
Excelsior!
His brow was sad; his eye beneath,
Flashed like a falchion from its sheath,
And like a silver clarion rung
The accents of that unknown tongue,
Excelsior!
In happy homes he saw the light
Of household fires gleam warm and bright;
Above, the spectral glaciers shone,
And from his lips escaped a groan,
Excelsior!
"Try not the Pass!" the old man said:
"Dark lowers the tempest overhead,
The roaring torrent is deep and wide!
And loud that clarion voice replied,
Excelsior!
"Oh stay," the maiden said, "and rest
Thy weary head upon this breast!"
A tear stood in his bright blue eye,
But still he answered, with a sigh,
Excelsior!
"Beware the pine-tree's withered branch!
Beware the awful avalanche!"
This was the peasant's last Good-night,
A voice replied, far up the height,
Excelsior!
At break of day, as heavenward
The pious monks of Saint Bernard
Uttered the oft-repeated prayer,
A voice cried through the startled air,
Excelsior!
A traveller, by the faithful hound,
Half-buried in the snow was found,
Still grasping in his hand of ice
That banner with the strange device,
Excelsior!
There in the twilight cold and gray,
Lifeless, but beautiful, he lay,
And from the sky, serene and far,
A voice fell, like a falling star,
Excelsior!
Scheme | aabbC ddeeC ffggC hhiiC jjkkC llffC axmmC nnbbC ooppC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01110101 1111101 01111101 01010101 0100 11111101 1101111 010101001 01011011 0100 01011101 11101101 0101101 01110101 0100 11010111 110010101 010101101 011100101 0100 11010101 11010111 01101111 11110101 0100 01011101 0101010 1101111 01011101 0100 111111 01011101 10010101 01110101 0100 010010101 11000111 11001111 11010101 0100 1001101 10110011 01010101 01110101 0100 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,418 |
Words | 244 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 45 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 120 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 26 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 22, 2023
- 1:12 min read
- 321 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Excelsior" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18590/excelsior>.
Discuss this Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In