Analysis of The Storm

Coventry Patmore 1823 (Woodford, London) – 1896 (Lymington)



Within the pale blue haze above,
Some pitchy shreds took size and form,
And, like a madman's wrath or love,
From nothing rose a sudden storm.
The blossom'd limes, which seem'd to exhale
Her breath, were swept with one strong sweep,
And up the dusty road the hail
Came like a flock of hasty sheep,
Driving me under a cottage-porch,
Whence I could see the distant Spire,
Which, in the darkness, seem'd a torch
Touch'd with the sun's retreating fire.
A voice, so sweet that even her voice,
I thought, could scarcely be more sweet,
As thus I stay'd against my choice,
Did mine attracted hearing greet;
And presently I turn'd my head
Where the kind music seem'd to be,
And where, to an old blind man, she read
The words that teach the blind to see.
She did not mark me; swift I went,
Thro' the fierce shower's whistle and smoke,
To her home, and thence her woman sent
Back with umbrella, shoes and cloak.
The storm soon pass'd; the sun's quick glare
Lay quench'd in vapour fleecy, fray'd;
And all the moist, delicious air
Was fill'd with shine that cast no shade;
And, when she came, forth the sun gleam'd,
And clash'd the trembling Minster chimes;
And the breath with which she thank'd me seem'd
Brought thither from the blossom'd limes.


Scheme ABABCDCDEFEGHIHIJKJKLMLMNONOPQPQ
Poetic Form
Metre 01011101 1111101 0101111 11010101 010111101 01011111 01010101 11011101 101100101 11110101 10010101 110101010 011111001 11110111 11110111 11010101 01001111 10110111 011111111 01110111 11111111 10111001 101010101 11010101 01110111 1101101 01010101 11111111 01111011 010100101 001111111 1110101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,211
Words 225
Sentences 6
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 32
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 949
Words per stanza (avg) 223
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:13 min read
35

Coventry Patmore

Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore was an English poet and critic best known for The Angel in the House, his narrative poem about an ideal happy marriage. more…

All Coventry Patmore poems | Coventry Patmore Books

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