Analysis of House Of Bondage

Francis Thompson 1859 (City of Preston, Lancashire) – 1907 (London)



When I perceive Love's heavenly reaping still
Regard perforce the clouds' vicissitude,
That the fixed spirit loves not when it will,
But craves its seasons of the flawful blood;
When I perceive that the high poet doth
Oft voiceless stray beneath the uninfluent stars,
That even Urania of her kiss is loath,
And Song's brave wings fret on their sensual bars;
When I perceived the fullest-sail-ed sprite
Lag at most need upon the leth-ed seas,
The provident captainship oft voided quite,
And lam-ed lie deep-draughted argosies;
I scorn myself, that put for such strange toys
The wit of man to purposes of boys.

The spirit's ark sealed with a little clay,
Was old ere Memphis grew a memory;
The hand pontifical to break away
That seal what shall surrender? Not the sea
Which did englut great Egypt and his war,
Nor all the desert-drown-ed sepulchres.
Love's feet are stained with clay and travel-sore,
And dusty are Song's lucent wing and hairs.
O Love, that must do courtesy to decay,
Eat hasty bread standing with loins up-girt,
How shall this stead thy feet for their sore way?
Ah, Song, what brief embraces balm thy hurt!
Had Jacob's toil full guerdon, casting his
Twice-seven heaped years to burn in Rachel's kiss?


Scheme AXAXXBXBCXCBDD EFEFGBGXEHEHXX
Poetic Form
Metre 11011100101 010101100 1011011111 111101011 1101101101 110101011 110110111 01111111001 1101010111 1111010111 010011101 0111111 111111111 0111110011 0101110101 1111010100 0101001101 1111010101 111110011 11010111 1111110101 0101110101 11111100101 1101101111 1111111111 1111010111 110111101 11011110101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,201
Words 213
Sentences 8
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 14, 14
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 482
Words per stanza (avg) 105
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:06 min read
25

Francis Thompson

The Rt Rev Francis William Banahene Thompson was Bishop of Accra from 1983 to 1996. more…

All Francis Thompson poems | Francis Thompson Books

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