Analysis of The Curlew Song
Henry Kendall 1839 (Australia) – 1882 (Sydney)
The viewless blast flies moaning past,
Away to the forest trees,
Where giant pines and leafless vines
Bend 'neath the wandering breeze!
From ferny streams, unearthly screams
Are heard in the midnight blue;
As afar they roam to the shepherd's home,
The shrieks of the wild Curlew!
As afar they roam
To the shepherd's home,
The shrieks of the wild Curlew!
The mists are curled o'er a dark-faced world,
And the shadows sleep around,
Where the clear lagoon reflects the moon
In her hazy glory crowned;
While dingoes howl, and wake the growl
Of the watchdog brave and true;
Whose loud, rough bark shoots up in the dark,
With the song of the lone Curlew!
Whose loud, rough bark
Shoots up in the dark,
With the song of the lone Curlew!
Near herby banks the dark green ranks
Of the rushes stoop to drink;
And the ripples chime, in a measured time,
On the smooth and mossy brink;
As wind-breaths sigh, and pass, and die,
To start from the swamps anew,
And join again o'er ridge and plain
With the wails of the sad Curlew!
And join again
O'er ridge and plain
With the wails of the sad Curlew!
The clouds are thrown around the cone
Of the mountain bare and high,
(Whose craggy peak uprears to the cheek -
To the face of the sombre sky)
When down beneath the foggy wreath,
Full many a gully through,
They rend the air, like cries of despair,
The screams of the wild Curlew!
They rend the air,
Like cries of despair,
The screams of the wild Curlew!
The viewless blast flies moaning past,
Away to the forest trees;
Where giant pines and leafless vines
Bend 'neath the wandering breeze!
From ferny streams, unearthly screams
Are heard in the midnight blue;
As afar they roam to the shepherd's home,
The shrieks of the wild Curlew!
As afar they roam
To the shepherd's home,
The shrieks of the wild Curlew!
Scheme | ABCBDEFEFFE xgxgxehEhhE xixijekExkE xjxjxelEllE ABCBDEFEFFE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0111101 0110101 11010101 1101001 1110101 110011 1011110101 011011 10111 10101 011011 0111100111 001101 101010101 0010101 1110101 101101 111111001 1011011 1111 11001 1011011 1110111 1010111 0010100101 101011 11110101 1110101 010110101 1011011 0101 10101 1011011 01110101 1010101 11011101 1011011 11010101 1100101 110111101 011011 1101 11101 011011 0111101 0110101 11010101 1101001 1110101 110011 1011110101 011011 10111 10101 011011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,743 |
Words | 329 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 11, 11, 11, 11, 11 |
Lines Amount | 55 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 280 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 65 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:40 min read
- 91 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Curlew Song" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17576/the-curlew-song>.
Discuss this Henry Kendall 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