Analysis of Seaweed

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 (Portland) – 1882 (Cambridge)



When descends on the Atlantic
The gigantic
Storm-wind of the equinox,
Landword in his wrath he scourges
The toiling surges,
Laden with seaweed from the rocks:

From Bermuda's reefs; from edges
Of sunken ledges,
In some far-off, bright Azore;
From Bahama, and the dashing
Silver-flashing
Surges of San Salvador;

From the tumbling surf, that buries
The Orkneyan skerries,
Answering the hoarse Hebrides;
And from wrecks of ships, and drifting
Spars, uplifting
On the desolate, rainy seas; -

Ever drifting, drifting, drifting
On the shifting
Currents of the restless main;
Till in sheltered coves, and reaches
Of sandy beaches,
All have found repose again.


Scheme AABCDB DCEFFE GBGFFG FFXDDX
Poetic Form
Metre 10110010 0010 111010 1011110 01010 1011101 111110 11010 011111 10100010 1010 101110 101001110 011 10001100 01111010 110 10100101 10101010 1010 1010101 10101010 11010 1110101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 637
Words 105
Sentences 2
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 4
Letters per stanza (avg) 131
Words per stanza (avg) 26
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

31 sec read
201

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline. more…

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