Analysis of Though it Lash the Shallows that Line the Beach

John Boyle O'Reilly 1844 (Dowth) – 1890 (Boston)



Though it lash the shallows that line the beach,
Afar from the great sea deeps,
There is never a storm whose might can reach
Where the vast leviathan sleeps.
Like a mighty thought in a quiet mind,
In the clear, cold depths he swims;
Whilst above him the pettiest form of his kind
With a dash o'er the surface skims.

There is peace in power: the men who speak
With the loudest tongues do least;
And the surest sign of a mind that is weak
Is its want of the power to rest.
It is only the lighter water that flies
From the sea on a windy day;
And the deep blue ocean never replies
To the sibilant voice of the spray.


Scheme ABABCBCB DXDXBEBE
Poetic Form
Metre 111011101 0110111 1110011111 10101001 1010100101 0011111 1011011111 101100101 1110100111 1010111 00101101111 111101011 11100101011 10110101 0011101001 1011101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 621
Words 124
Sentences 5
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 240
Words per stanza (avg) 61
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

37 sec read
47

John Boyle O'Reilly

John Boyle O'Reilly was an Irish-born poet, journalist and fiction writer. more…

All John Boyle O'Reilly poems | John Boyle O'Reilly Books

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