Analysis of Sonnet XCVII: A Superscription

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



Look in my face; my name is Might-have-been;
I am also called No-more, Too-late, Farewell;
Unto thine ear I hold the dead-sea shell
Cast up thy Life's foam-fretted feet between;
Unto thine eyes the glass where that is seen
Which had Life's form and Love's, but by my spell
Is now a shaken shadow intolerable,
Of ultimate things unuttered the frail screen.
Mark me, how still I am! But should there dart
One moment through thy soul the soft surprise
Of that winged Peace which lulls the breath of sighs
Then shalt thou see me smile, and turn apart
Thy visage to mine ambush at thy heart
Sleepless with cold commemorative eyes.


Scheme ABBCCBDCEFFEEF
Poetic Form
Metre 1011111111 1110111111 1011110111 1111110101 1011011111 1111011111 11010101000 110011011 1111111111 1101110101 1111110111 1111110101 110111111 101101001
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 620
Words 114
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 492
Words per stanza (avg) 112
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
46

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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