Analysis of Shadwell Stair
Wilfred Owen 1893 (Oswestry) – 1918 (Sambre–Oise Canal)
I am the ghost of Shadwell Stair.
Along the wharves by the water-house,
And through the cavernous slaughter-house,
I am the shadow that walks there.
Yet I have flesh both firm and cool,
And eyes tumultuous as the gems
Of moons and lamps in the full Thames
When dusk sails wavering down the pool.
Shuddering the purple street-arc burns
Where I watch always; from the banks
Dolorously the shipping clanks
And after me a strange tide turns.
I walk till the stars of London wane
And dawn creeps up the Shadwell Stair.
But when the crowing syrens blare
I with another ghost am lain.
Scheme | ABBA CDDC EXBE FAAF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 11011101 010110101 010100101 1101111 11111101 01100101 11010011 111100101 100010111 1111101 10101 01010111 111011101 01110101 1101011 11010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 570 |
Words | 106 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 115 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 26 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 31 sec read
- 84 Views
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"Shadwell Stair" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/38532/shadwell-stair>.
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