Analysis of After Sunset
Dinah Maria Mulock Craik 1826 (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire) – 1887 (Shortlands, London)
REST--rest--four little letters, one short word,
Enfolding an infinitude of bliss--
Rest is upon the earth. The heavy clouds
Hang poised in silent ether, motionless,
Seeking nor sun nor breeze. No restless star
Thrills the sky's gray-robed breast with pulsing rays,
The night's heart has throbbed out.
No grass blade stirs,
No downy-wingèd moth comes flittering by
Caught by the light--Thank God, there is no light,
No open-eyed, loud-voiced, quick motioned light,
Nothing but gloom and rest.
A row of trees
Along the hill horizon, westward, stands
All black and still, as if it were a rank
Of fallen angels, melancholy met
Before the amber gate of Paradise--
The bright shut gate, whose everlasting smile
Deadens despair to calm.
O, better far
Better than bliss is rest! If suddenly
Those burnished doors of molten gold, steel-barred,
Which the sun closed behind him as he went
Into his bridal chamber--were to burst
Asunder with a clang, and in a breath
God's mysteries were revealed--His kingdom came--
The multitudes of heavenly messengers
Hastening throughout all space--the thunder quire
Of praise--the obedient lightnings' lambent gleam
Around the unseen Throne--should I not sink
Crushed by the weight of such beatitudes,
Crying, 'Rest, only rest, thou merciful God!
Hide me within the hollow of Thy hand
In some dark corner of the universe,
Thy bright, full, busy universe, that blinds,
Deafens, and tortures--Give me only rest!'
O for a soul-sleep, long and deep and still!
To lie down quiet after the weary day,
Dropping all pleasant flowers from the numbed hands,
Bidding good-night to all companions dear,
Drawing the curtains on this darkened world,
Closing the eyes, and with a patient sigh
Murmuring 'Our Father'--fall on sleep, till dawn!
Scheme | XAXXBXXCDEEFXGXXXXXBXXXXXXCXXXAXXXXF XXGXXDX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111010111 11111 1101010101 1101010100 1011111101 1011111101 011111 1111 110111111 1101111111 1101111101 101101 0111 0101010101 1101111001 110101001 010101110 011110101 10111 1101 1011111100 1101110111 1011011111 0111010011 0101010001 11000011101 0101100100 10001110101 11001001011 0100111111 1101111 10110111001 1101010111 011101010 111101011 101011101 1101110101 11110100101 10110101011 1011110101 1001011101 1001010101 10010111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,764 |
Words | 287 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 36, 7 |
Lines Amount | 43 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 692 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 142 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:27 min read
- 83 Views
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"After Sunset" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/7985/after-sunset>.
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