Analysis of Qua Cursum Ventus
Arthur Hugh Clough 1819 (Liverpool) – 1861 (Florence)
As ships, becalm'd at eve, that lay
With canvas drooping, side by side,
Two towers of sail at dawn of day
Are scarce long leagues apart descried;
When fell the night, upsprung the breeze,
And all the darkling hours they plied,
Nor dreamt but each the self-same seas
By each was cleaving, side by side:
E'en so--but why the tale reveal
Of those whom, year by year unchang'd,
Brief absence join'd anew, to feel,
Astounded, soul from soul estrang'd?
At dead of night their sails were fill'd,
And onward each rejoicing steer'd--
Ah, neither blame, for neither will'd,
Or wist, what first with dawn appear'd!
To veer, how vain! On, onward strain,
Brave barks! In light, in darkness too,
Through winds and tides one compass guides--
To that, and your own selves, be true.
But O blithe breeze! and O great seas,
Though ne'er, that earliest parting past,
On your wide plain they join again,
Together lead them home at last.
One port, methought, alike they sought,
One purpose hold where'er they fare,--
O bounding breeze, O rushing seas!
At last, at last, unite them there!
Scheme | ABAB CBCB DEDE FGFG XHXH CIXI XJCJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 11011111 11010111 110111111 1111011 1101101 01011011 11110111 1111111 111110101 11111101 11010111 01011101 11111101 01010101 11011101 11111101 11111101 11010101 11011101 11011111 11110111 111100101 11111101 01011111 1110111 11011011 11011101 1111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,046 |
Words | 189 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 116 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 24, 2023
- 1:00 min read
- 160 Views
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"Qua Cursum Ventus" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/3895/qua-cursum-ventus>.
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