Analysis of For The Spot Where The Hermitage Stood on St. Herbert's Island, Derwentwater.
William Wordsworth 1770 (Wordsworth House) – 1850 (Cumberland)
If thou in the dear love of some one Friend
Hast been so happy that thou know'st what thoughts
Will sometimes in the happiness of love
Make the heart sink, then wilt thou reverence
This quiet spot; and, Stranger! not unmoved
Wilt thou behold this shapeless heap of stones,
The desolate ruins of St. Herbert's Cell.
Here stood his threshold; here was spread the roof
That sheltered him, a self-secluded Man,
After long exercise in social cares
And offices humane, intent to adore
The Deity, with undistracted mind,
And meditate on everlasting things,
In utter solitude.--But he had left
A Fellow-labourer, whom the good Man loved
As his own soul. And, when with eye upraised
To heaven he knelt before the crucifix,
While o'er the lake the cataract of Lodore
Pealed to his orisons, and when he paced
Along the beach of this small isle and thought
Of his Companion, he would pray that both
(Now that their earthly duties were fulfilled)
Might die in the same moment. Nor in vain
So prayed he:--as our chronicles report,
Though here the Hermit numbered his last day
Far from St. Cuthbert his beloved Friend,
Those holy Men both died in the same hour.
Scheme | ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOAPKQRSTUVWAX |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1100111111 11110111111 1010010011 1011111100 1101010101 1101110111 01001011101 111111101 1101010101 101100101 01000101101 0100111 01010101 010101111 010110111 111101111 1101101010 11001010011 11110111 0101111101 1101011111 1111010001 1100110101 11111010001 1101010111 111101011 11011100110 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,154 |
Words | 205 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 27 |
Lines Amount | 27 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 908 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 201 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:02 min read
- 69 Views
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"For The Spot Where The Hermitage Stood on St. Herbert's Island, Derwentwater." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42206/for-the-spot-where-the-hermitage-stood-on-st.-herbert%27s-island%2C-derwentwater.>.
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