Analysis of I've Heard the Rushing

James Clerk Maxwell 1831 (Edinburgh, Scotland) – 1879 (Cambridge, England)



I’ve heard the rushing of mountain torrents, gushing
Down through the rocks, in a cataract of spray,
Onward to the ocean;
Swift seemed their motion,
Till, lost in the desert, they dwindled away.

I’ve learnt the story of all human glory,
I’ve felt high resolves growing weaker every day,
Till cares, springing round me,
With creeping tendrils bound me,
And all I once hoped for was wearing fast away.

I’ve seen the river rolling on for ever,
Silent and strong, without tumult or display.
In the desert arid,
Its waters never tarried,
Till far out at sea we still found them on their way.

Now no more weary we faint in deserts dreary,
Toiling alone till the closing of the day;
All now is righted,
Our souls flow on united,
Till the years and their sorrows have all died away.


Scheme XABBA CACCA XADDA CAXDA
Poetic Form Tetractys  (30%)
Metre 110101101010 11010010011 101010 11110 11001011001 11010111010 1110110101001 111011 110111 011111110101 11010101110 10010110101 001010 110101 111111111111 111101101010 10011010101 11110 10111010 101011011101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 771
Words 142
Sentences 6
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 152
Words per stanza (avg) 35
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

42 sec read
100

James Clerk Maxwell

James Clerk Maxwell was a Scottish scientist in the field of mathematical physics.  more…

All James Clerk Maxwell poems | James Clerk Maxwell Books

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    Repeated use of words for effect and emphasis is called ________.
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