Analysis of Bismarck at Canossa: Sonnets
Algernon Charles Swinburne 1837 (London) – 1909 (London)
NOT ALL disgraced, in that Italian town,
The imperial German cowered beneath thine hand,
Alone indeed imperial Hildebrand,
And felt thy foot and Rome’s, and felt her frown
And thine, more strong and sovereign than his crown,
Though iron forged its blood-encrusted band.
But now the princely wielder of his land,
For hatred’s sake toward freedom, so bows down,
No strength is in the foot to spurn: its tread
Can bruise not now the proud submitted head:
But how much more abased, much lower brought low,
And more intolerably humiliated,
The neck submissive of the prosperous foe,
Than his whom scorn saw shuddering in the snow!
Scheme | ABBAABBACCDEDD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101010101 001001010111 0101010010 0111010101 0111010111 1101110101 110101111 11010110111 1110011111 1111010101 1111111011 01010000100 01010101001 11111100001 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 624 |
Words | 108 |
Sentences | 3 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 36 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 499 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 106 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 32 sec read
- 70 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Bismarck at Canossa: Sonnets" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1288/bismarck-at-canossa%3A-sonnets>.
Discuss this Algernon Charles Swinburne 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