Analysis of The Rower's Chant

Thomas Sturge Moore 1870 – 1944



ROW till the land dip 'neath
The sea from view.
Row till a land peep up,
A home for you.

Row till the mast sing songs
Welcome and sweet,
Row till the waves, outstripped,
Give up, dead beat.

Row till the sea-nymphs rise
To ask you why
Rowing you tarry not
To hear them sigh.

Row till the stars grow bright
Like certain eyes.
Row till the noon be high
As hopes you prize.

Row till you harbour in
All longing's port.
Row till you find all things
For which you sought.


Scheme XAXA XBXB CDXD XCDC XXXX
Poetic Form Quatrain  (80%)
Tetractys  (40%)
Etheree  (30%)
Metre 110111 0111 110111 0111 110111 1001 110101 1111 110111 1111 101101 1111 110111 1101 110111 1111 111100 111 111111 1111
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 468
Words 94
Sentences 9
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 18
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 71
Words per stanza (avg) 18
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

28 sec read
109

Thomas Sturge Moore

Thomas Sturge Moore was an English poet author and artist He was born on 4 March 1870 and was educated at Dulwich College the Croydon Art School and Lambeth Art School He was a long-term friend and correspondent of W B Yeats He was also a playwright writing a Medea influenced by Yeats drama and the Japanese Noh style Sturge Moore was a prolific poet and his subjects included morality art and the spirit His first pamphlet Two Poems was printed privately in 1893 and his first book of verse The Vinedresser was published in 1899 His love for poetry lead him to become an active member of the Poetry Recital Society His first of 31 plays to be produced was Aphrodite against Artemis 1906 staged by the Literary Theatre Club of which he became a member in 1908 He received a civil list pension in 1920 in recognition for his contribution to literature and in 1930 he was nominated as one of seven candidates for the position of Poet Laureate He died on 18 July 1944 He adopted the name Sturge as a way of avoiding confusion with the poet Thomas Moore more…

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