Analysis of The Shower (I)
Henry Vaughan 1621 (Brecknockshire) – 1695
'TWAS so ; I saw thy birth. That drowsy lake
From her faint bosom breath'd thee, the disease
Of her sick waters and infectious ease.
But now at even,
Too gross for heaven,
Thou fall'st in tears, and weep'st for thy mistake.
Ah ! it is so with me : oft have I press'd
Heaven with a lazy breath ; but fruitless this
Pierc'd not ; love only can with quick access
Unlock the way,
When all else stray,
The smoke and exhalations of the breast.
Yet, if as thou dost melt, and with thy train
Of drops make soft the Earth, my eyes could weep
O'er my hard heart, that's bound up and asleep ;
Perhaps at last,
Some such showers past,
My God would give a sunshine after rain.
Scheme | ABBXXA CXXDDC EFFGGE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111111101 1011011001 1011000101 11110 11110 111010111101 1111111111 10101011101 111101111 0101 1111 0101101 1111110111 1111011111 10111111001 0111 11101 111101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 660 |
Words | 130 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 18 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 167 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 44 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 26, 2023
- 41 sec read
- 138 Views
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"The Shower (I)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18458/the-shower-%28i%29>.
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