Analysis of The Apparition: A Retrospect
Herman Melville 1819 – 1891
Convulsions came; and, where the field
Long slept in pastoral green,
A goblin-mountain was upheaved
(Sure the scared sense was all deceived),
Marl-glen and slag-ravine.
The unreserve of Ill was there,
The clinkers in her last retreat;
But, ere the eye could take it in,
Or mind could comprehension win,
It sunk! - and at our feet.
So, then, Solidity's a crust -
The core of fire below;
All may go well for many a year,
But who can think without a fear
Of horrors that happen so?
Scheme | ABAXB XCDDC XEFFE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01010101 1101001 0101011 10111101 110101 011111 0100101 11011110 1110101 1101101 11101 0111001 111111001 11110101 1101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 472 |
Words | 90 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 15 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 122 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 29 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 27 sec read
- 342 Views
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"The Apparition: A Retrospect" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/19105/the-apparition%3A-a-retrospect>.
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