Analysis of Prayer
Hilda Doolittle 1886 (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) – 1961 (Zurich)
White, O white face—
from disenchanted days
wither alike dark rose
and fiery bays:
no gift within our hands,
nor strength to praise,
only defeat and silence;
though we lift hands, disenchanted,
of small strength, nor raise
branch of the laurel
or the light of torch,
but fold the garment
on the riven locks,
yet hear, all-merciful, and touch
the fore-head, dim, unlit of pride and thought,
Mistress–be near!
Give back the glamour to our will,
the thought; give back the tool,
the chisel; once we wrought
things not unworthy,
sandal and steel-clasp;
silver and steel, the coat
with white leaf-pattern
at the arm and throat:
silver and metal, hammered for the ridge
of shield and helmet-rim;
white silver with the darker hammered in,
belt, staff and magic spear-shaft
with the gilt spark at the point and hilt.
Scheme | ABCBDBEFBGHIJKLMNOLPQRSRTUVWX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111 100101 100111 01001 1101101 1111 1001010 11110010 11111 11010 10111 11010 10101 11110001 011111101 1011 110101101 011101 010111 11010 10011 100101 11110 10101 1001010101 110101 1101010100 1101011 101110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 816 |
Words | 140 |
Sentences | 3 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 29 |
Lines Amount | 29 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 634 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 138 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 28, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 43 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Prayer" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/19277/prayer>.
Discuss this Hilda Doolittle 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