Analysis of Antwerp To Ghent

Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828 (London) – 1882 (Birchington-on-Sea)



We are upon the Scheldt. We know we move
Because there is a floating at our eyes
Whatso they seek; and because all the things
Which on our outset were distinct and large
Are smaller and much weaker and quite grey,
And at last gone from us. No motion else.
We are upon the road. The thin swift moon
Runs with the running clouds that are the sky,
And with the running water runs—at whiles
Weak 'neath the film and heavy growth of reeds.
The country swims with motion. Time itself
Is consciously beside us, and perceived.
Our speed is such the sparks our engine leaves
Are burning after the whole train has passed.
The darkness is a tumult. We tear on,
The roll behind us and the cry before,
Constantly, in a lull of intense speed
And thunder. Any other sound is known
Merely by sight. The shrubs, the trees your eye
Scans for their growth, are far along in haze.
The sky has lost its clouds, and lies away
Oppressively at calm: the moon has failed:
Our speed has set the wind against us. Now
Our engine's heat is fiercer, and flings up
Great glares alongside. Wind and steam and speed
And clamour and the night. We are in Ghent.


Scheme ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRHSETUVQW
Poetic Form
Metre 1101011111 01110101101 111001101 1110100101 1100110011 0111111101 1101010111 1101011101 0101010111 1101010111 0101110101 1100011001 101110110101 1101001111 0101010111 0101100101 1000011011 0101010111 1011010111 1111110101 0111110101 1110111 10111010111 10101110011 1101110101 010011101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,136
Words 214
Sentences 17
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 26
Lines Amount 26
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 883
Words per stanza (avg) 212
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:04 min read
127

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. more…

All Dante Gabriel Rossetti poems | Dante Gabriel Rossetti Books

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