Analysis of Despairing Cries
Walt Whitman 1819 (West Hills) – 1892 (Camden)
DESPAIRING cries float ceaselessly toward me, day and night,
The sad voice of Death--the call of my nearest lover, putting forth,
alarmed, uncertain,
This sea I am quickly to sail, come tell me,
Come tell me where I am speeding--tell me my destination.
I understand your anguish, but I cannot help you,
I approach, hear, behold--the sad mouth, the look out of the eyes,
your mute inquiry,
Whither I go from the bed I now recline on, come tell me;
Old age, alarmed, uncertain--A young woman's voice appealing to me,
for comfort,
A young man's voice, Shall I not escape?
Scheme | XXABA XXBBBXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01011100011101 0111101111010101 01010 11111011111 11111110111010 101110111011 101101011011101 11010 101110111011111 11010100110101011 110 011111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 619 |
Words | 102 |
Sentences | 3 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 7 |
Lines Amount | 12 |
Letters per line (avg) | 36 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 218 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 50 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 31 sec read
- 76 Views
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"Despairing Cries" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/37998/despairing-cries>.
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