Analysis of To The Rose Upon The Rood Of Time

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



Red Rose, proud Rose, sad Rose of all my days!
Come near me, while I sing the ancient ways:
Cuchulain battling with the bitter tide;
The Druid, grey, wood-nurtured, quiet-eyed,
Who cast round Fergus dreams, and ruin untold;
And thine own sadness, where of stars, grown old
In dancing silver-sandalled on the sea,
Sing in their high and lonely melody.
Come near, that no more blinded hy man's fate,
I find under the boughs of love and hate,
In all poor foolish things that live a day,
Eternal beauty wandering on her way.
Come near, come near, come near -- Ah, leave me still
A little space for the rose-breath to fill!
Lest I no more bear common things that crave;
The weak worm hiding down in its small cave,
The field-mouse running by me in the grass,
And heavy mortal hopes that toil and pass;
But seek alone to hear the strange things said
By God to the bright hearts of those long dead,
And learn to chaunt a tongue men do not know.
Come near; I would, before my time to go,
Sing of old Eire and the ancient ways:
Red Rose, proud Rose, sad Rose of all my days.


Scheme AabbccddeeffgghhiijjkkaA
Poetic Form
Metre 1111111111 1111110101 110010101 0101110101 11110101001 0111011111 010101101 1011010100 1111110111 1110011101 0111011101 01010100101 1111111111 0101101111 1111110111 0111010111 0111011001 0101011101 1101110111 1110111111 0111011111 1111011111 111100101 1111111111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,050
Words 204
Sentences 7
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 24
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 818
Words per stanza (avg) 202
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 01, 2023

1:01 min read
133

William Butler Yeats

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

All William Butler Yeats poems | William Butler Yeats Books

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