Analysis of Ghosts Of A Lunatic Asylum

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



Here, where men's eyes were empty and as bright
As the blank windows set in glaring brick,
When the wind strengthens from the sea - and night
Drops like a fog and makes the breath come thick;

By the deserted paths, the vacant halls,
One may see figures, twisted shades and lean,
Like the mad shapes that crawl an Indian screen,
Or paunchy smears you find on prison walls.

Turn the knob gently! There's the Thumbless Man,
Still weaving glass and silk into a dream,
Although the wall shows through him - and the Khan
Journeys Cathay beside a paper stream.

A Rabbit Woman chitters by the door -
- Chilly the grave-smell comes from the turned sod -
Come - lift the curtain - and be cold before
The silence of the eight men who were God!


Scheme ABAB CDDC XEXE FGFG
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 1111010011 1011010101 1011010101 1101010111 1001010101 1111010101 10111111001 1101111101 101101011 1101010101 101111001 1001010101 010101101 1001111011 1101001101 0101011101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 740
Words 140
Sentences 5
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 36
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 143
Words per stanza (avg) 35
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

42 sec read
109

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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