Analysis of Lalla Rookh
Thomas Moore 1779 (Dublin) – 1852 (Bromham)
"How sweetly," said the trembling maid,
Of her own gentle voice afraid,
So long had they in silence stood,
Looking upon that tranquil flood--
"How sweetly does the moon-beam smile
To-night upon yon leafy isle!
Oft in my fancy's wanderings,
I've wish'd that little isle had wings,
And we, within its fairy bow'rs,
Were wafted off to seas unknown,
Where not a pulse should beat but ours,
And we might live, love, die alone!
Far from the cruel and the cold,--
Where the bright eyes of angels only
Should come around us, to behold
A paradise so pure and lonely.
Would this be world enough for thee?"--
Playful she turn'd, that he might see
The passing smile her cheek put on;
But when she mark'd how mournfully
His eyes met hers, that smile was gone;
And, bursting into heart-felt tears,
"Yes, yes," she cried, "my hourly fears
My dreams have boded all too right--
We part--for ever part--to-night!
I knew, I knew it could not last--
'Twas bright, 'twas heav'nly, but 'tis past!
Oh! ever thus, from childhood's hour,
I've seen my fondest hopes decay;
I never lov'd a tree or flow'r,
But 'twas the first to fade away.
I never nurs'd a dear gazelle
To glad me with its soft black eye,
But when it came to know me well
And love me, it was sure to die!
Now too--the joy most like divine
Of all I ever dreamt or knew,
To see thee, hear thee, call thee mine,--
Oh misery! must I lose that too?
Yet go--on peril's brink we meet;--
Those frightful rocks--that treach'rous sea--
No, never come again--though sweet,
Though heav'n, it may be death to thee.
Farewell--and blessings on thy way,
Where'er thou goest, beloved stranger!
Better to sit and watch that ray,
And think thee safe, though far away,
Than have thee near me, and in danger!"
Scheme | AABCDDEEEFGFHIHIIIJDKLMNNOOPQRQSTSTUVUVWIWIQPQQP |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110101001 10110101 11110101 10011101 11010111 11011101 1011100 11110111 01011101 01011101 110111110 01111101 11010001 101111010 11011101 01011010 11110111 10111111 01010111 111111 11101111 01001111 11111101 1111111 11110111 11111111 1111111 11011110 11110101 110101111 11011101 11010101 11111111 11111111 01111111 11011101 11110111 11111111 110011111 1111111 1101111 11010111 11111111 1010111 10110110 10110111 01111101 111110010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,690 |
Words | 322 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 48 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,294 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 313 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 16, 2023
- 1:40 min read
- 109 Views
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"Lalla Rookh" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/36858/lalla-rookh>.
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