Analysis of Nebuchadnezzar's Fall
Robert Graves 1895 (Wimbledon) – 1985 (Deià)
Frowning over the riddle that Daniel told,
Down through the mist hung garden, below a feeble sun,
The King of Persia walked: oh, the chilling cold!
His mind was webbed with a grey shroud vapour-spun.
Here for the pride of his soaring eagle heart,
Here for his great hand searching the skies for food,
Here for his courtship of Heaven's high stars he shall smart,
Nebuchadnezzar shall fall, crawl, be subdued.
Hot sun struck through the vapour, leaf strewn mould
Breathed sweet decay: old Earth called for her child.
Mist drew off from his mind, Sun scattered gold,
Warmth came and earthy motives fresh and wild.
Down on his knees he sinks, the stiff-necked King,
Stoops and kneels and grovels, chin to the mud.
Out from his changed heart flutter on startled wing
The fancy birds of his Pride, Honour, Kinglihood.
He crawls, he grunts, he is beast-like, frogs and snails
His diet, and grass, and water with hand for cup.
He herds with brutes that have hooves and horns and tails,
He roars in his anger, he scratches, he looks not up.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD AEAE FXFA GHGH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 10100101101 1101110010101 01110110101 1111101111 11011110101 11111100111 111111011111 1111101 111101111 1101111101 1111111101 1101010101 1111110111 101011101 11111101101 010111111 11111111101 110010101111 11111110101 1101101101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,021 |
Words | 185 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 41 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 162 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 37 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 55 sec read
- 109 Views
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