Analysis of The Harlequin Of Dreams
Sidney Lanier 1842 (Macon) – 1881 (Lynn)
Swift, through some trap mine eyes have never found,
Dim-panelled in the painted scene of Sleep,
Thou, giant Harlequin of Dreams, dost leap
Upon my spirit's stage. Then Sight and Sound,
Then Space and Time, then Language, Mete and Bound,
And all familiar Forms that firmly keep
Man's reason in the road, change faces, peep
Betwixt the legs and mock the daily round.
Yet thou canst more than mock: sometimes my tears
At midnight break through bounden lids -- a sign
Thou hast a heart: and oft thy little leaven
Of dream-taught wisdom works me bettered years.
In one night witch, saint, trickster, fool divine,
I think thou'rt Jester at the Court of Heaven!
Scheme | ABBAABBACDEFDE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111111101 110010111 1101001111 0111011101 1101110101 0101011101 1100011101 0101010101 1111110111 11111101 11010111010 1111011101 0111110101 11110101110 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 663 |
Words | 116 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 37 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 514 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 117 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 35 sec read
- 40 Views
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"The Harlequin Of Dreams" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/34794/the-harlequin-of-dreams>.
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