Analysis of Pursuit and Possession
Thomas Bailey Aldrich 1836 (Portsmouth) – 1907 (Boston)
When I behold what pleasure is pursuit,
What life, what glorious eagerness it is;
Then mark how full possession falls from this,
How fairer seems the blossom than the fruit --
I am perplexed, and often stricken mute
Wondering which attained the higher bliss,
The wingèd insect, or the chrysalis
It thrust aside with unreluctant foot.
Spirit of verse, that still elud'st my art,
Thou uncaught rapture, thou swift-fleeting fire,
O let me follow thee with hungry heart
If beauty's full possession kill desire!
Still flit away in moonlight, rain, and dew,
Will-of-the-wisp, that I may still pursue!
Scheme | ABCAACCDEFEFGG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101110101 11110010011 1111010111 1101010101 1101010101 1001010101 011110100 1101111 101111111 1110111010 1111011101 1110101010 110101101 1101111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 603 |
Words | 100 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 470 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 98 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 30 sec read
- 119 Views
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"Pursuit and Possession" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/36066/pursuit-and-possession>.
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