Analysis of A Minor Poet

Stephen Vincent Benet 1898 (Bethlehem) – 1943 (New York City)



I am a shell. From me you shall not hear
The splendid tramplings of insistent drums,
The orbed gold of the viol's voice that comes,
Heavy with radiance, languorous and clear.
Yet, if you hold me close against the ear,
A dim, far whisper rises clamorously,
The thunderous beat and passion of the sea,
The slow surge of the tides that drown the mere.

Others with subtle hands may pluck the strings,
Making even Love in music audible,
And earth one glory. I am but a shell
That moves, not of itself, and moving sings;
Leaving a fragrance, faint as wine new-shed,
A tremulous murmur from great days long dead.


Scheme ABBCADXC EDDEFF
Poetic Form
Metre 1101111111 010110101 011101111 101100101 1111110101 01110101 01001010101 0111011101 1011011101 10101010100 0111011101 1111010101 1001011111 01001011111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 613
Words 112
Sentences 6
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 6
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 237
Words per stanza (avg) 55
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 05, 2023

33 sec read
60

Stephen Vincent Benet

Stephen Vincent Benét was an American author, poet, short story writer, and novelist. more…

All Stephen Vincent Benet poems | Stephen Vincent Benet Books

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