Analysis of Man I Am and Man Would Be, Love
Robert Browning 1812 (Camberwell) – 1889 (Venice)
Man I am and man would be, Love--merest man and nothing more.
Bid me seem no other! Eagles boast of pinions--let them soar!
I may put forth angel's plumage, once unmanned, but not before.
Now on earth to stand suffices,--nay, if kneeling serves, to kneel:
Here you front me, here I find the all of heaven that earth can feel:
Sense looks straight,--not over,under,--perfect sees beyond appeal.
Good you are and wise, full circle: what to me were more outside?
Wiser wisdom, better goodness? Ah, such want the angel's wide
Sense to take and hold and keep them! Mine at least has never tried.
| Scheme | AAA BBB CCC |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | Triplet |
| Metre | 111011111010101 11111010111111 11111101011101 111110101110111 1111111011101111 111110110101 111011101110111 10101010111011 111010111111101 |
| Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
| Characters | 598 |
| Words | 110 |
| Sentences | 10 |
| Stanzas | 3 |
| Stanza Lengths | 3, 3, 3 |
| Lines Amount | 9 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 50 |
| Words per line (avg) | 12 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 150 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 30, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 126 Views
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"Man I Am and Man Would Be, Love" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/30380/man-i-am-and-man-would-be%2C-love>.
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