Analysis of The Chantry Of The Cherubim
Francis William Bourdillon 1852 (Runcorn) – 1921
O CHANTRY of the Cherubim,
Down-looking on the stream!
Beneath thy boughs the day grows dim;
Through windows comes the gleam;
A thousand raptures fill the air,
Beyond delight, beyond despair.
I will not name one flower that clings
In cluster at my feet!
I will not hail one bird that sings
Its anthem loud or sweet!
This is the floor of Heaven, and these
The angels that God’s ear do please.
I walk as one unclothed of flesh,
I wash my spirit clean;
I see old miracles afresh,
And wonders yet unseen.
I will not leave Thee till Thou give
Some word whereby my soul may live!
I listened—but no voice I heard;
I looked—no likeness saw;
Slowly the joy of flower and bird
Did like a tide withdraw;
And in the heaven a silent star
Smiled on me, infinitely far.
I buoyed me on the wings of dream,
Above the world of sense;
I set my thought to sound the scheme,
And fathom the Immense;
I tuned my spirit as a lute
To catch wind-music wandering mute.
Yet came there never voice nor sign;
But through my being stole
Sense of a Universe divine,
And knowledge of a soul
Perfected in the joy of things,
The star, the flower, the bird that sings.
Nor I am more, nor less, than these;
All are one brotherhood;
I and all creatures, plants, and trees,
The living limbs of God;
And in an hour, as this, divine,
I feel the vast pulse throb in mine.
Scheme | AAAABB CDCDEE FGFGXX HIHIJJ AKAKLL MNMNCC EXEXMM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11101 110101 01110111 110101 0101101 01010101 111111011 010111 11111111 110111 110111001 01011111 1111111 111101 11110001 010101 11111111 11011111 11011111 111101 100111001 110101 000100101 11110001 110110111 010111 11111101 010001 11110101 111101001 11110111 111101 1101001 010101 01000111 010100111 11111111 11110 10110101 010111 001101101 11011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,343 |
Words | 256 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 42 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 147 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:16 min read
- 94 Views
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"The Chantry Of The Cherubim" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13975/the-chantry-of-the-cherubim>.
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