Analysis of Through Agony
Claude McKay 1889 (Clarendon Parish) – 1948 (Chicago)
All night, through the eternity of night,
Pain was my potion though I could not feel.
Deep in my humbled heart you ground your heel,
Till I was reft of even my inner light,
Till reason from my mind had taken flight,
And all my world went whirling in a reel.
And all my swarthy strength turned cold like steel,
A passive mass beneath your puny might.
Last night I gave you triumph over me,
So I should be myself as once before,
I marveled at your shallow mystery,
And haunted hungrily your temple door.
I gave you sum and substance to be free,
Oh, you shall never triumph any more!
I do not fear to face the fact and say,
How darkly-dull my living hours have grown,
My wounded heart sinks heavier than stone,
Because I loved you longer than a day!
I do not shame to turn myself away
From beckoning flowers beautifully blown,
To mourn your vivid memory alone
In mountain fastnesses austerely gray.
The mists will shroud me on the utter height,
The salty, brimming waters of my breast
Will mingle with the fresh dews of the night
To bathe my spirit hankering to rest.
But after sleep I'll wake with greater might,
Once more to venture on the eternal quest.
Scheme | ABBAABBACDCDCD EFFEEFFEAGAGAG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1110010011 1111011111 1011011111 11111101101 1101111101 0111110001 0111011111 0101011101 1111110101 111111101 1101110100 0101001101 1111010111 1111010101 1111110101 11011101011 1101110011 0111110101 111111101 1100101001 1111010001 0101101 0111110101 0101010111 1101011101 1111010011 1101111101 11110100101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,166 |
Words | 219 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 14, 14 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 455 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 108 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:06 min read
- 106 Views
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