Analysis of The Water-Fall
Henry Vaughan 1621 (Brecknockshire) – 1695
1 With what deep murmurs through time's silent stealth
2 Doth thy transparent, cool, and wat'ry wealth
3 Here flowing fall,
4 And chide, and call,
5 As if his liquid, loose retinue stay'd
6 Ling'ring, and were of this steep place afraid;
7 The common pass
8 Where, clear as glass,
9 All must descend
10 Not to an end,
11 But quicken'd by this deep and rocky grave,
12 Rise to a longer course more bright and brave.
13 Dear stream! dear bank, where often I
14 Have sate and pleas'd my pensive eye,
15 Why, since each drop of thy quick store
16 Runs thither whence it flow'd before,
17 Should poor souls fear a shade or night,
18 Who came, sure, from a sea of light?
19 Or since those drops are all sent back
20 So sure to thee, that none doth lack,
21 Why should frail flesh doubt any more
22 That what God takes, he'll not restore?
23 O useful element and clear!
24 My sacred wash and cleanser here,
25 My first consigner unto those
26 Fountains of life where the Lamb goes!
27 What sublime truths and wholesome themes
28 Lodge in thy mystical deep streams!
29 Such as dull man can never find
30 Unless that Spirit lead his mind
31 Which first upon thy face did move,
32 And hatch'd all with his quick'ning love.
33 As this loud brook's incessant fall
34 In streaming rings restagnates all,
35 Which reach by course the bank, and then
36 Are no more seen, just so pass men.
37 O my invisible estate,
38 My glorious liberty, still late!
39 Thou art the channel my soul seeks,
40 Not this with cataracts and creeks.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFF GGHHIIJJHH XXKKLLMMXXBBNNOOPP |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (33%) Etheree (33%) |
Metre | 1111011101 110101011 1101 0101 111101101 1100111101 0101 1111 1101 1111 1101110101 1101011101 11111101 11011101 11111111 1111101 11110111 11110111 11111111 11111111 11111101 11111101 11010001 11010101 111101 10111011 10110101 10110011 11111101 01110111 11011111 01111111 11110101 010111 11110101 11111111 11010001 110010011 11010111 1111001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,716 |
Words | 295 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 10, 18 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 13 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 390 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 176 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 30, 2023
- 1:31 min read
- 143 Views
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"The Water-Fall" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18463/the-water-fall>.
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