Analysis of Sea Grief

Dowell O'Reilly 1865 (Sydney) – 1923 (Leura, Blue Mountains)



Along the serried coast the Southerly raves,   
Grey birds scream landward through the distance hoar,   
And, swinging from the dim confounded shore,   
The everlasting boom of broken waves   

Like muffled thunder rolls about the graves           
 Of all the wonder-lands and lives of yore,   
 Whose bones asunder bleach for evermore,   
In sobbing chasms and under choking caves:   

O breaking heart—whose only rest is rage,   
White tossing arms, and lips that kiss and part           
In lonely dreams of love's wild ecstasy,   

Not the mean earth thy suffering can assuage   
Nor highest heaven fulfil thy hungry heart,   
O fair full-bosomed passionate weeping sea.


Scheme ABBA ABBA CDE CDE
Poetic Form
Metre 0101101001 1111010101 0101010101 001011101 1101010101 1101010111 110101110 0101010101 1101110111 1101011101 0101111100 10111100101 1101011101 1111100101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 675
Words 102
Sentences 2
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 3, 3
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 36
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 125
Words per stanza (avg) 25
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

30 sec read
26

Dowell O'Reilly

Dowell Philip O'Reilly was an Australian poet, short story writer and politician. more…

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