Analysis of Lost Love
Robert Graves 1895 (Wimbledon) – 1985 (Deià)
His eyes are quickened so with grief,
He can watch a grass or leaf
Every instant grow; he can
Clearly through a flint wall see,
Or watch the startled spirit flee
From the throat of a dead man.
Across two counties he can hear
And catch your words before you speak.
The woodlouse or the maggot's weak
Clamour rings in his sad ear,
And noise so slight it would surpass
Credence--drinking sound of grass,
Worm talk, clashing jaws of moth
Chumbling holes in cloth;
The groan of ants who undertake
Gigantic loads for honour's sake
(Their sinews creak, their breath comes thin);
Whir of spiders when they spin,
And minute whispering, mumbling, sighs
Of idle grubs and flies.
This man is quickened so with grief,
He wanders god-like or like thief
Inside and out, below, above,
Without relief seeking lost love.
Scheme | AABCCBDEEDFFGGHHIIJJAAKK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110111 1110111 10010111 1010111 11010101 1011011 01110111 01110111 011011 110111 01111101 1010111 1110111 1101 0111110 0101111 1111111 1110111 0101001001 110101 11110111 11011111 01010101 01011011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 810 |
Words | 143 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 24 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 635 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 141 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 15, 2023
- 43 sec read
- 215 Views
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"Lost Love" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/31143/lost-love>.
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