Analysis of French Leave
Claude McKay 1889 (Clarendon Parish) – 1948 (Chicago)
No servile little fear shall daunt my will
This morning. I have courage steeled to say
I will be lazy, conqueringly still,
I will not lose the hours in toil this day.
The roaring world without, careless of souls,
Shall leave me to my placid dream of rest,
My four walls shield me from its shouting ghouls,
And all its hates have fled my quiet breast.
And I will loll here resting, wide awake,
Dead to the world of work, the world of love,
I laze contented just for dreaming's sake
With not the slightest urge to think or move.
How tired unto death, how tired I was!
Now for a day I put my burdens by,
And like a child amidst the meadow grass
Under the southern sun, I languid lie
And feel the bed about me kindly deep,
My strength ooze gently from my hollow bones,
My worried brain drift aimlessly to sleep,
Like softening to a song of tuneful tones.
Scheme | ABAB XCXC DXDX XEXE FGFG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (80%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1101011111 1101110111 1111011 11110100111 0101011011 1111110111 1111111101 0111111101 0111110101 1101110111 110101111 1101011111 11010111011 1101111101 010101011 1001011101 0101011101 1111011101 1101110011 11001011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 858 |
Words | 165 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 133 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 26, 2023
- 49 sec read
- 262 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"French Leave" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6857/french-leave>.
Discuss this Claude McKay poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In