Analysis of The Venetian Gondolier
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 (Portland) – 1882 (Cambridge)
Here rest the weary oar! -- soft airs
Breathe out in the o'erarching sky;
And Night!-- sweet Night -- serenely wears
A smile of peace; her noon is nigh.
Where the tall fir in quiet stands,
And waves, embracing the chaste shores,
Move o'er sea-shells and bright sands,-
Is heard the sound of dipping oars.
Swift o'er the wave the light bark springs,
Love's midnight hour draws lingering near:
And list!-- his tuneful viol strings
The young Venetian Gondolier.
Lo! on the silver-mirrored deep,
On earth, and her embosomed lakes,
And where the silent rivers sweep,
From the thin cloud fair moonlight breaks
Soft music breathes around, and dies
On the calm bosom of the sea;
Whilst in her cell the novice sighs
Her vespers to her rosary.
At their dim altars bow fair forms,
In tender charity for those,
That, helpless left to life's rude storms,
Have never found this calm repose.
The bell swings to its midnight chime,
Relieved against the deep blue sky!--
Haste!-- dip the oar again! -- 'tis time
To seek Genevra's balcony.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ KLKL MBMJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (86%) |
Metre | 11010111 110011 011101001 01110111 10110101 01010011 11011011 11011101 110010111 111011001 0111011 0101001 11010101 110011 01010101 1011111 11010101 10110101 10010101 0110100 11110111 01010011 11011111 11011101 0111111 01010111 11010111 111100 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,002 |
Words | 185 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 113 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 57 sec read
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