Analysis of As a Beam O'er the Face of the Waters May Glow
Thomas Moore 1779 (Dublin) – 1852 (Bromham)
As a beam o'er the face of the waters may glow
While the tide runs in darkness and coldness below,
So the cheek may be tinged with a warm sunny smile,
Though the cold heart to ruin runs darkly the while.
One fatal remembrance, one sorrow that throws
Its bleak shade alike o'er our joys and our woes,
To which life nothing darker or brighter can bring,
For which joy has no balm and affliction no sting --
Oh! this thought in the midst of enjoyment will stay,
Like a dead, leafless branch in the summer's bright ray;
The beams of the warm sun play round it in vain;
It may smile in his light, but it blooms not again.
Scheme | AABB CCDD EEXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (67%) |
Metre | 1011001101011 101101001001 101111101101 101111011001 11001011011 11101101010101 111101011011 111111001011 111001101011 101101001011 01101111101 111011111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 624 |
Words | 122 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 12 |
Letters per line (avg) | 40 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 160 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 40 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 17, 2023
- 37 sec read
- 48 Views
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"As a Beam O'er the Face of the Waters May Glow" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/36813/as-a-beam-o%27er-the-face-of-the-waters-may-glow>.
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