Analysis of The House of Fortune III
Khalil Gibran 1883 (Bsharri) – 1931 (New York City)
My wearied heart bade me farewell and left for the House of Fortune. As he reached that holy city which the soul had blessed and worshipped, he commenced wondering, for he could not find what he had always imagined would be there. The city was empty of power, money, and authority.
And my heart spoke to the daughter of Love saying, "Oh Love, where can I find Contentment? I heard that she had come here to join you."
And the daughter of Love responded, "Contentment has already gone to preach her gospel in the city, where greed and corruption are paramount; we are not in need of her."
Fortune craves not Contentment, for it is an earthly hope, and its desires are embraced by union with objects, while Contentment is naught but heartfelt.
The eternal soul is never contented; it ever seeks exaltation. Then my heart looked upon Life of Beauty and said: "Thou art all knowledge; enlighten me as to the mystery of Woman." And he answered, "Oh human heart, woman is your own reflection, and whatever you are, she is; wherever you live, she lives; she is like religion if not interpreted by the ignorant, and like a moon, if not veiled with clouds, and like a breeze, if not poisoned with impurities."
And my heart walked toward Knowledge, the daughter of Love and Beauty, and said, "Bestow upon me wisdom, that I might share it with the people." And she responded, "Say not wisdom, but rather fortune, for real fortune comes not from outside, but begins in the Holy of Holies of life. Share of thyself with the people."
| Scheme | X X X X X X |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 11011110110111011111010101110101011001111111110101110101101101000100 0111101011101111110101111111111 001011010010101011101000101100101101110110 101101011111010101010111011010101111 0010111001011011111101111001111100101110100110011011011011101001011110101111111010110100101000101111110101111010100 011101100101101001010111011111101001010111011010111011111101001011111111010 |
| Characters | 1,527 |
| Words | 280 |
| Sentences | 14 |
| Stanzas | 6 |
| Stanza Lengths | 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 |
| Lines Amount | 6 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 198 |
| Words per line (avg) | 45 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 198 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 45 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:22 min read
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"The House of Fortune III" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/25242/the-house-of-fortune-iii>.
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