Durer's 'Melencholia'

Edward Dowden 1843 (Cork) – 1913



THE bow of promise, this lost flaring star,
Terror and hope are in mid-heaven; but She,
The mighty-wing'd crown'd Lady Melancholy,
Heeds not. O to what vision'd goal afar
Does her thought bear those steadfast eyes which are
A torch in darkness? There nor shore nor sea,
Nor ebbing Time vexes Eternity,
Where that lone thought outsoars the mortal bar.
Tools of the brain--the globe, the cube--no more
She deals with; in her hand the compass stays;
Nor those, industrious genius, of her lore
Student and scribe, thou gravest of the fays,
Expect this secret to enlarge thy store;
She moves through incommunicable ways.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
92

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBAABBACDCDCD
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 623
Words 106
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Edward Dowden

Edward Dowden, was an Irish critic and poet. more…

All Edward Dowden poems | Edward Dowden Books

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