Analysis of My Last Dance
The shell of objects inwardly consumed
Will stand, till some convulsive wind awakes;
Such sense hath Fire to waste the heart of things,
Nature, such love to hold the form she makes.
Thus, wasted joys will show their early bloom,
Yet crumble at the breath of a caress;
The golden fruitage hides the scathèd bough,
Snatch it, thou scatterest wide its emptiness.
For pleasure bidden, I went forth last night
To where, thick hung, the festal torches gleamed;
Here were the flowers, the music, as of old,
Almost the very olden time it seemed.
For one with cheek unfaded, (though he brings
My buried brothers to me, in his look,)
Said, `Will you dance?' At the accustomed words
I gave my hand, the old position took.
Sound, gladsome measure! at whose bidding once
I felt the flush of pleasure to my brow,
While my soul shook the burthen of the flesh,
And in its young pride said, `Lie lightly thou!'
Then, like a gallant swimmer, flinging high
My breast against the golden waves of sound,
I rode the madd'ning tumult of the dance,
Mocking fatigue, that never could be found.
Chide not,--it was not vanity, nor sense,
(The brutish scorn such vaporous delight,)
But Nature, cadencing her joy of strength
To the harmonious limits of her right.
She gave her impulse to the dancing Hours,
To winds that sweep, to stars that noiseless turn;
She marked the measure rapid hearts must keep
Devised each pace that glancing feet should learn.
And sure, that prodigal o'erflow of life,
Unvow'd as yet to family or state,
Sweet sounds, white garments, flowery coronals
Make holy, in the pageant of our fate.
Sound, measure! but to stir my heart no more--
For, as I moved to join the dizzy race,
My youth fell from me; all its blooms were gone,
And others showed them, smiling, in my face.
Faintly I met the shock of circling forms
Linked each to other, Fashion's galley-slaves,
Dream-wondering, like an unaccustomed ghost
That starts, surprised, to stumble over graves.
For graves were 'neath my feet, whose placid masks
Smiled out upon my folly mournfully,
While all the host of the departed said,
`Tread lightly--thou art ashes, even as we.'
Scheme | XAAAXABACDXDAEAEABXB XFAF ACXC AGXG XHAH XAXA AAXA AXXX |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0111010001 111101011 11110110111 1011110111 1101111101 1101011001 010110111 111111100 1101011111 111101101 10010010111 101010111 11111111 1101011011 1111100101 1111010101 111011101 1101110111 111101101 0011111101 1101010101 1101010111 1101110101 1001110111 1111110011 01011101 11010111 10010010101 11010101010 111111111 1101010111 0111110111 011100111 111110011 111101001 11000101101 1101111111 1111110101 1111111101 0101110011 10110111001 1111010101 1100110101 1101110101 1101111101 11011101 1101100101 11011101011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,202 |
Words | 378 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 20, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 207 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 46 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 05, 2023
- 1:53 min read
- 151 Views
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"My Last Dance" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/24735/my-last-dance>.
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