Analysis of Thora
Celia Thaxter 1835 (Portsmouth) – 1894 (Appledore Island)
Come under my cloak, my darling!
Thou little Norwegian main!
Nor wind, nor rain, nor rolling sea
Shall chill or make thee afraid.
Come close, little blue-eyed maiden,
Nestle within my arm;
Thought the lightning leaps and the thunder peals,
We shall be safe from harm.
Swift from the dim horizon
The dark sails scud for the land.
Look, how the rain-cloud drops its fringe
About us on either hand!
And high from our plunging bowsprit
Dashes the cold white spray,
And storm and tumult fill the air
And trouble the summer day.
But thou fearest nothing, darling,
Thought the tempest mutter and brood,
Though the wild wind tosses they bright brown locks,
And flutters thy grass-green snood.
I kiss they wise wide forehead,
While the thunder rolls so grand;
And I hold the curve of they lovely cheek
In the hollow of my hand;
And I watch the sky and the ocean,
And I study they gentle face --
Its lines of sweetness and power,
Thy type of they strong Norse race.
And I wonder what thy life will be,
Thou dear and charming child,
Who hast drifted so far across the world
To a home so lone and wild.
Rude and rough and sad, perhaps;
Anxious and full of toil;
But I think no sorrow or hardship
Thine inner peace can spoil.
For better than kingly fortunes
Is the wealth that thou dost hold --
A nature perfectly balanced,
A beauty of heart untold.
Thou wilt open the door of patience,
When sorry shall come and knock;
But to every evil, unworthy thing
Wilt thou the gates fast lock.
So shall thy day be blessed,
Whatever may be thy lot.
But what I am silently pondering
Thou understandest not,
And liftest to me thy steadfast eyes,
Calm as if heaven looked through.
Do all the maidens in Norway
Have eyes so clear and blue?
See, darling, where, in the distance,
The cloud breaks up in the sky,
And lets a ray of sunshine fall
Where our far-off islands lie!
White they gleam, and the sea grows bright
And silver shines the foam.
A little space, and our anchor drops
In the haven of Love and Home!
Scheme | AXBC DEBE DFXF CGXG AXXC XFXF DHXH BIXI XJXJ XKXK LMAM XNAN XOGO LPXP XQXQ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (87%) Etheree (27%) |
Metre | 11011110 110101 11111101 1111101 11101110 100111 1010100101 111111 1101010 0111101 11011111 0111101 01110101 100111 01010101 0100101 1111010 10101001 1011101111 0101111 1111110 1010111 0110111101 0010111 011010010 01101101 11110010 1111111 011011111 110101 1110110101 1011101 1010101 100111 111110110 110111 11011010 1011111 01010010 0101101 111001110 1101101 11100100101 110111 111111 101111 1111100100 111 0111111 1111011 1101001 111101 11010010 0111001 0101111 11011101 11100111 010101 0101010101 00101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,935 |
Words | 370 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 15 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 60 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 104 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:51 min read
- 35 Views
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"Thora" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/4870/thora>.
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