Analysis of The Voice
Matthew Arnold 1822 (Laleham) – 1888 (Liverpool)
As the kindling glances,
Queen-like and clear,
Which the bright moon lances
From her tranquil sphere
At the sleepless waters
Of a lonely mere,
On the wild whirling waves, mournfully, mournfully,
Shiver and die.
As the tears of sorrow
Mothers have shed -
Prayers that tomorrow
Shall in vain be sped
When the flower they flow for
Lies frozen and dead -
Fall on the throbbing brow, fall on the burning breast,
Bringing no rest.
Like bright waves that fall
With a lifelike motion
On the lifeless margin of the sparkling Ocean;
A wild rose climbing up a mouldering wall -
A gush of sunbeams through a ruined hall -
Strains of glad music at a funeral -
So sad, and with so wild a start
To this deep-sobered heart,
So anxiously and painfully,
So drearily and doubtfully,
And oh, with such intolerable change
Of thought, such contrast strange,
O unforgotten voice, thy accents come,
Like wanderers from the world's extremity,
Unto their ancient home!
In vain, all, all in vain,
They beat upon mine ear again,
Those melancholy tones so sweet and still.
Those lute-like tones which in the bygone year
Did steal into mine ear -
Blew such a thrilling summons to my will,
Yet could not shake it;
Made my tost heart its very life-blood spill,
Yet could not break it.
Scheme | ABABXBCX DEDEXEFF CGGCCCHHCCIIXXX XXCBXCJCJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (28%) Etheree (25%) |
Metre | 101010 1101 10111 10101 101010 10101 10110111 1001 101110 1011 1101 10111 1010111 11001 110101110101 1011 11111 10110 101010101010 011101011 011110101 1111010100 11011101 111101 11000100 1101 0111010001 111101 1111101 11001010100 101101 011101 11011101 110011101 111110011 110111 1101010111 11111 1111110111 11111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,221 |
Words | 226 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 15, 9 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 247 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 56 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 18, 2023
- 1:08 min read
- 39 Views
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"The Voice" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/27297/the-voice>.
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