Analysis of Truth

Stephen Crane 1871 – 1900



"Truth," said a traveller,
"Is a rock, a mighty fortress;
Often have I been to it,
Even to its highest tower,
From whence the world looks black."

"Truth," said a traveller,
"Is a breath, a wind,
A shadow, a phantom;
Long have I pursued it,
But never have I touched
The hem of its garment."
And I believed the second traveller;
For truth was to me
A breath, a wind,
A shadow, a phantom,
And never had I touched
The hem of its garment.


Scheme Axbax AcDbeFaxcDeF
Poetic Form
Metre 110100 10101010 1011111 10111010 110111 110100 10101 01010 111011 110111 011110 0101010100 11111 0101 01010 010111 011110
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 441
Words 90
Sentences 4
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 5, 12
Lines Amount 17
Letters per line (avg) 19
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 161
Words per stanza (avg) 42
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 14, 2023

25 sec read
704

Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane was an American politician from Elizabethtown who was a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776. more…

All Stephen Crane poems | Stephen Crane Books

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