Analysis of Under the Surface
John Boyle O'Reilly 1844 (Dowth) – 1890 (Boston)
AY, smile as you will, with your saintly face!
But I know the line
Of your guard is as weak as a maze of lace:
You may give no sign—
And the devil is never far to seek,
And a rotten peach has a lovely cheek.
As they come in the stream, I say to you:
The lives we jostle are none of them true.
Who seeks with a lamp and glass may find
A nature of honor from core to rind;
But woe to the heart that is formed so true:
It may not reck, and it still must rue
The perjured lip and the bleeding vow.
God keep it blind to the things we know—
To the ghastly scars for the leech's eyes
And the occult lore of the worldly wise.
Scheme | ABABCC DDEEDDXXFF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111111101 11101 11111110111 11111 0010110111 0010110101 1110011111 0111011111 111010111 0101101111 1110111111 111101111 010100101 111110111 101011011 0001110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 629 |
Words | 135 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 10 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 234 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 67 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 40 sec read
- 122 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Under the Surface" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22101/under-the-surface>.
Discuss this John Boyle O'Reilly 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