Analysis of The Good Craft _Snow Bird_
Herman Melville 1819 – 1891
Strenuous need that head-wind be
From purposed voyage that drives at last
The ship, sharp-braced and dogged still,
Beating up against the blast.
Brigs that figs for market gather,
Homeward-bound upon the stretch,
Encounter oft this uglier weather
Yet in end their port they fetch.
Mark yon craft from sunny Smyrna
Glazed with ice in Boston Bay;
Out they toss the fig-drums cheerly,
Livelier for the frosty ray.
What if sleet off-shore assailed her,
What though ice yet plate her yards;
In wintry port not less she renders
Summer's gift with warm regards!
And, look, the underwriters' man,
Timely, when the stevedore's done,
Puts on his _specs_ to pry and scan,
And sets her down--_A, No. 1._
Bravo, master! Bravo, brig!
For slanting snows out of the West
Never the _Snow-Bird_ cares one fig;
And foul winds steady her, though a pest.
Scheme | XABA CDCD XEBE CFXF GXGX HIHI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (83%) |
Metre | 10011111 11101111 0111011 1010101 11111010 1010101 0101110010 1011111 11111010 1110101 1110111 10010101 11111010 1111101 010111110 1011101 0101001 101011 11111101 0101111 1010101 11011101 10011111 011100101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 818 |
Words | 145 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 109 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 44 sec read
- 38 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Good Craft _Snow Bird_" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/19114/the-good-craft-_snow-bird_>.
Discuss this Herman Melville 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