Analysis of Though All The Fates

Henry David Thoreau 1817 (Concord) – 1862 (Concord)



THOUGH all the fates should prove unkind,
Leave not your native land behind.
The ship, becalmed, at length stands still;
The steed must rest beneath the hill;
But swiftly still our fortunes pace
To find us out in every place.

The vessel, though her masts be firm,
Beneath her copper bears a worm;
Around the cape, across the line,
Till fields of ice her course confine;
It matters not how smooth the breeze,
How shallow or how deep the seas,
Whether she bears Manilla twine,
Or in her hold Madeira wine,
Or China teas, or Spanish hides,
In port or quarantine she rides;
Far from New England's blustering shore,
New England's worm her hulk shall bore,
And sink her in the Indian seas,
Twine, wine, and hides, and China teas.


Scheme AABBCC DDEEFFEEGGHHFF
Poetic Form Etheree  (25%)
Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 11011101 11110101 01011111 01110101 110110101 111101001 01010111 01010101 01010101 11110101 11011101 11011101 10110101 10010101 11011101 0111011 111101001 11010111 010001001 11010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 712
Words 132
Sentences 4
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 6, 14
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 283
Words per stanza (avg) 65
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 03, 2023

40 sec read
151

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist. more…

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