Analysis of He Bids His Beloved Be At Peace

William Butler Yeats 1865 (Sandymount) – 1939 (Menton)



I HEAR the Shadowy Horses, their long manes a-shake,
Their hoofs heavy with tumult, their eyes glimmering white;
The North unfolds above them clinging, creeping night,
The East her hidden joy before the morning break,
The West weeps in pale dew and sighs passing away,
The South is pouring down roses of crimson fire:
O vanity of Sleep, Hope, Dream, endless Desire,
The Horses of Disaster plunge in the heavy clay:
Beloved, let your eyes half close, and your heart beat
Over my heart, and your hair fall over my breast,
Drowning love's lonely hour in deep twilight of rest,
And hiding their tossing manes and their tumultuous feet.


Scheme ABBACDDCEFFE
Poetic Form
Metre 1101001011101 1110110111001 010101110101 010101010101 011011011001 0111011011010 1100111110010 0101010100101 01111110111 101101111011 101101001111 0101101011001
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 628
Words 111
Sentences 2
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 42
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 501
Words per stanza (avg) 109
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
75

William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. more…

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