Analysis of In The Cathedral
Edward Dowden 1843 (Cork) – 1913
THE altar-lights burn low, the incense-fume
Sickens: O listen, how the priestly prayer
Runs as a fenland stream; a dim despair
Hails through their chaunt of praise, who here inhume
A clay-cold Faith within its carven tomb.
But come thou forth into the vital air
Keen, dark, and pure! grave Night is no betrayer,
And if perchance some faint cold star illume
Her brow of mystery, shall we walk forlorn?
An altar of the natural rock may rise
Somewhere for men who seek; there may be borne
On the night-wind authentic prophecies:
If not, let this--to breathe sane breath--suffice,
Till in yon East, mayhap, the dark be worn.
Scheme | ABBAABBACDCEFC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101110011 111010101 110110101 111111111 011101111 1111010101 110111111 010111111 01110011101 11010100111 111111111 1011010100 1111111101 101110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 628 |
Words | 110 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 486 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 108 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 97 Views
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"In The Cathedral" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/9516/in-the-cathedral>.
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