Analysis of Excelsior
Francis William Bourdillon 1852 (Runcorn) – 1921
If one should strive to reach a star,
He would not build a ladder high,
Seek foot by foot to climb so far,
And step by step ascend the sky;
But he would seek the wild bird’s wings,
The secret of the lightning’s play,
Leap out upon the night’s blue rings,
And hail at dawn his wished-for day.
I will not vainly seek to thee
By ladder-steps of wealth or fame,
Till some few feet below me be
The world, thy distance still the same.
But I will seek that influence
By which all nature’s marvels move,
Till I, by flash or flight from hence,
Win to thee as on wings of Love.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF XXXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111101 11110101 11111111 01110101 11110111 01010101 11010111 01111111 11110111 11011111 11110111 01110101 11111100 11110101 11111111 11111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 568 |
Words | 115 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 109 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 97 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Excelsior" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 Sep. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13965/excelsior>.
Discuss this Francis William Bourdillon 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