Analysis of The End of the World

Archibald MacLeish 1892 (Glencoe) – 1982 (Boston)



Quite unexpectedly, as Vasserot
The armless ambidextrian was lighting
A match between his great and second toe,
And Ralph the lion was engaged in biting
The neck of Madame Sossman while the drum
Pointed, and Teeny was about to cough
In waltz-time swinging Jocko by the thumb
Quite unexpectedly to top blew off:

And there, there overhead, there, there hung over
Those thousands of white faces, those dazed eyes,
There in the starless dark, the poise, the hover,
There with vast wings across the cancelled skies,
There in the sudden blackness the black pall
Of nothing, nothing, nothing -- nothing at all.


Scheme ABABCXCX DEDEXX
Poetic Form
Metre 1010011 011110 0101110101 01010101010 011101101 1001010111 011101101 101001111 01110111110 1101110111 1001101010 1111010101 1001010011 11010101011
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 598
Words 104
Sentences 2
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 6
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 242
Words per stanza (avg) 51
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 14, 2023

31 sec read
239

Archibald MacLeish

Archibald MacLeish was an American poet, writer, and the Librarian of Congress. more…

All Archibald MacLeish poems | Archibald MacLeish Books

0 fans

Discuss this Archibald MacLeish poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The End of the World" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/3763/the-end-of-the-world>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    8
    hours
    3
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "Love After Love"?
    A Derek Walcott
    B William Shakespeare
    C Robert Burns
    D Rabindranath Tagore