Analysis of Circle and Square
Edwin Muir 1887 (Orkney) – 1959 (Cambridge)
‘I give you half of me;
No more, lest I should make
A ground for perjury.
For your sake, for my sake,
Half will you take?’
‘Half I’ll not take nor give,
For he who gives gives all.
By halves you cannot live;
Then let the barrier fall,
In one circle have all.’
“A wise and ancient scorner
Said to me once: Beware
The road that has no corner
Where you can linger and stare.
Choose the square.
‘And let the circle run
Its dull and fevered race.
You, my dear, are one;
Show your soul in your face;
Maintain your place.
‘Give, but have something to give.
No man can want you all.
Live, and learn to live.
When all the barriers fall
You are nothing at all.’
Scheme | ABABB CDEDD FFFFF GHGHH CDEDD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 111111 111111 011100 111111 1111 111111 111111 111101 1101001 011011 010101 111101 0111110 1111001 101 010101 110101 11111 111011 0111 1111011 111111 10111 1101001 111011 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 677 |
Words | 134 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 25 |
Letters per line (avg) | 20 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 98 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 26 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 40 sec read
- 153 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Circle and Square" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10110/circle-and-square>.
Discuss this Edwin Muir poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In