Analysis of Steam-Launches on the Thames
James Kenneth Stephen 1859 (London) – 1892
Henley, June 7, 1891.
Shall we, to whom the stream by right belongs,
Who travel silent, save, perchance, for songs;
Whose track's a ripple,--leaves the Thames a lake,
Nor frights the swan--scarce makes the rushes shake;
Who harmonize, exemplify, complete
And vivify a scene already sweet:
Who travel careless on, from lock to lock,
Oblivious that the world contains a clock,
With pace commensurate to our desires,
Propelled by other force than Stygian fire's;
Shall we be driven hence to leave a place
For these, who bring upon our stream disgrace:
The rush, the roar, the stench, the smoke, the steam,
The nightmare striking through our heavenly dream;
The scream as shrill and hateful to the ear
As when a peacock vents his rage and fear;
Which churn to fury all a glassy reach,
And heave rude breakers on a pebbly beach:
Which half o'erwhelm with waves our frailer craft,
While graceless shop-boys chuckle fore and aft:
Foul water-toadstools, noisome filth-stained shapes,
Fit only to be manned by dogs and apes:
Blots upon nature: scars that mar her smile:
Obscene, obtrusive, execrable, vile?
Scheme | X AABBCCDDEEFFGGXXHHIIJJKK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (24%) |
Metre | 101 1111011101 1101010111 1101010101 1101110101 11001001 01010101 1101011111 01001010101 110100110010 011101110010 1111011101 11110110101 0101010101 01101101001 0111010101 110111101 1111010101 011101011 111111011 1101110101 11011111 1101111101 1011011101 010101001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,083 |
Words | 186 |
Sentences | 3 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 24 |
Lines Amount | 25 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 432 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 92 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 56 sec read
- 115 Views
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"Steam-Launches on the Thames" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20211/steam-launches-on-the-thames>.
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