Analysis of The Ancient Elf
James Stephens 1882 (Dublin) – 1950
I am the maker,
The builder, the breaker,
The eagle-winged helper,
The speedy forsaker!
The lance and the lyre,
The water, the fire,
The tooth of oppression,
The lip of desire!
The snare and the wing,
They honey, the sting!
When you seek for me--look
For a different thing!
I, careless and gay,
Never mean what I say,
For my thoughts and my eyes
Look the opposite way!
Scheme | AAAA XAXA BBXB CCXC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (50%) |
Metre | 11010 010010 010110 0101 01001 010010 011010 011010 01001 11001 111111 101001 11001 101111 111011 101001 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 361 |
Words | 70 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 18 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 70 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 17 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 21 sec read
- 387 Views
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"The Ancient Elf" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20523/the-ancient-elf>.
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