Analysis of On Huntingdon's "Miranda"

Sidney Lanier 1842 (Macon) – 1881 (Lynn)



The storm hath blown thee a lover, sweet,
And laid him kneeling at thy feet.
But, -- guerdon rich for favor rare!
The wind hath all thy holy hair
To kiss and to sing through and to flare
Like torch-flames in the passionate air,
    About thee, O Miranda.

Eyes in a blaze, eyes in a daze,
Bold with love, cold with amaze,
Chaste-thrilling eyes, fast-filling eyes
With daintiest tears of love's surprise,
Ye draw my soul unto your blue
As warm skies draw the exhaling dew,
    Divine eyes of Miranda.

And if I were yon stolid stone,
Thy tender arm doth lean upon,
Thy touch would turn me to a heart,
And I would palpitate and start,
-- Content, when thou wert gone, to be
A dumb rock by the lonesome sea
    Forever, O Miranda.


Scheme AABBBBC DDEEFFC XXGGHHC
Poetic Form
Metre 011110101 01110111 1111101 01111101 110111011 111001001 0111010 10011001 1111101 11011101 1111101 11111011 1111011 0111010 01101101 11011101 11111101 01110001 10111111 01110101 0101010
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 713
Words 137
Sentences 6
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 7, 7, 7
Lines Amount 21
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 182
Words per stanza (avg) 45
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

41 sec read
119

Sidney Lanier

Sidney Lanier was a poet, writer, composer, critic, professor of literature at Johns Hopkins and first flutist with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra in Baltiimore. He wrote the Centennial cantata for the opening ceremony of the 1876 Centennial celebration in Philadelphia. more…

All Sidney Lanier poems | Sidney Lanier Books

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