Analysis of Solitude
John Henry Newman 1801 (London) – 1890 (Edgbaston)
There is in stillness oft a magic power
To calm the breast, when struggling passions lower;
Touch'd by its influence, in the soul arise
Diviner feelings, kindred with the skies.
By this the Arab's kindling thoughts expand,
When circling skies inclose the desert sand;
For this the hermit seeks the thickest grove,
To catch th' inspiring glow of heavenly love.
It is not solely in the freedom given
To purify and fix the heart on heaven;
There is a Spirit singing aye in air,
That lifts us high above all mortal care.
No mortal measure swells that mystic sound,
No mortal minstrel breathes such tones around,—
The Angels' hymn,—the sovereign harmony
That guides the rolling orbs along the sky,—
And hence perchance the tales of saints who view'd
And heard Angelic choirs in solitude.
By most unheard,—because the earthly din
Of toil or mirth has charms their ears to win.
Alas for man! he knows not of the bliss,
The heaven that brightens such a life as this.
Scheme | AABBCCDEFFGGHHIJKKLLMM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010101010 110111001010 11110000101 11010101 110110101 1100110101 1101010101 1111010111001 111100001010 1100101110 1101010101 1111011101 1101011101 1101011101 0101010100 1101010101 0101011111 01101010 1101010101 1111111111 0111111101 01011010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 974 |
Words | 174 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 22 |
Lines Amount | 22 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 760 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 168 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 53 sec read
- 141 Views
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"Solitude" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23313/solitude>.
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