Analysis of Cape Cod

George Santayana 1863 (Madrid) – 1952 (Rome)



The low sandy beach and the thin scrub pine,
The wide reach of bay and the long sky line,—
O, I am sick for home!

The salt, salt smell of the thick sea air,
And the smooth round stones that the ebbtides wear,—
When will the good ship come?

The wretched stumps all charred and burned,
And the deep soft rut where the cartwheel turned,—
Why is the world so old?

The lapping wave, and the broad gray sky
Where the cawing crows and the slow gulls fly,
Where are the dead untold?

The thin, slant willows by the flooded bog,
The huge stranded hulk and the floating log,
Sorrow with life began!

And among the dark pines, and along the flat shore,
O the wind, and the wind, for evermore!
What will become of man?


Scheme AAX BBX CCD EED XXF GGF
Poetic Form
Metre 0110100111 0111100111 111111 011110111 001111011 110111 01011101 001111011 110111 010100111 101100111 110101 011110101 0110100101 101101 001011001011 101001110 110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 718
Words 141
Sentences 8
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
Lines Amount 18
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 90
Words per stanza (avg) 23
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

42 sec read
144

George Santayana

Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, known as George Santayana, was a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. more…

All George Santayana poems | George Santayana Books

0 fans

Discuss this George Santayana poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Cape Cod" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15788/cape-cod>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    11
    days
    8
    hours
    23
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    The long poem “The Waste Land” was written by which poet?
    A C. S Lewis
    B T. S. Eliot
    C Emma Lazarus
    D W. H. Auden