Analysis of Going Downhill On A Bicycle--A Boy's Song
Henry Charles Beeching 1859 (U. K.) – 1919 (U. K.)
With lifted feet, hands still,
I am poised, and down the hill
Dart, with heedful mind;
The air goes by in a wind.
Swifter and yet more swift,
Till the heart with a mighty lift
Makes the lungs laugh, the throat cry:—
"O bird, see; see, bird, I fly.
"Is this, is this your joy?
O bird, then I, though a boy,
For a golden moment share
Your feathery life in air!"
Say, heart, is there aught like this
In a world that is full of bliss?
'Tis more than skating, bound
Steel-shod to the level ground.
Speed slackens now, I float
Awhile in my airy boat;
Till, when the wheels scarce crawl,
My feet to the treadles fall.
Alas, that the longest hill
Must end in a vale; but still,
Who climbs with toil, wheresoe'er,
Shall find wings waiting there.
Scheme | AABB CCDD EEFF GGHH IIJJ AADF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 110111 1110101 1111 0111001 100111 10110101 1011011 1111111 111111 1111101 1010101 1100101 1111111 00111111 111101 1110101 110111 0101101 110111 111011 0110101 1100111 11111 111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 730 |
Words | 145 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 94 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
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Submitted on May 15, 2021
Modified on May 04, 2023
- 43 sec read
- 135 Views
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"Going Downhill On A Bicycle--A Boy's Song" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/100073/going-downhill-on-a-bicycle--a-boy%27s-song>.
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