Analysis of The King On The Tower



The cold gray hills they bind me around,
The darksome valleys lie sleeping below,
But the winds as they pass o'er all this ground,
Bring me never a sound of woe!

Oh! for all I have suffered and striven,
Care has embittered my cup and my feast;
But here is the night and the dark blue heaven,
And my soul shall be at rest.

O golden legends writ in the skies!
I turn towards you with longing soul,
And list to the awful harmonies
Of the Spheres as on they roll.

My hair is gray and my sight nigh gone;
My sword it rusteth upon the wall;
Right have I spoken, and right have I done:
When shall I rest me once for all?

O blessed rest! O royal night!
Wherefore seemeth the time so long
Till I see you stars in their fullest light,
And list to their loudest song?


Scheme ABAB CXCX XDXD XECE FGFG
Poetic Form Quatrain  (80%)
Tetractys  (20%)
Etheree  (20%)
Metre 011111101 011011001 10111110111 11100111 1111110010 1101011011 11101001110 0111111 110101001 110111101 011010100 1011111 111101111 11110101 1111001111 11111111 1111101 110111 1111101101 0111101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 745
Words 153
Sentences 10
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 29
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 117
Words per stanza (avg) 30
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

46 sec read
93

William Makepeace Thackeray

William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. more…

All William Makepeace Thackeray poems | William Makepeace Thackeray Books

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