Analysis of Song from Judith 3
Lascelles Abercrombie 1881 (Ashton upon Mersey) – 1938 (London)
BALKIS was in her marble town,
And shadow over the world came down.
Whiteness of walls, towers and piers,
That all day dazzled eyes to tears,
Turned from being white-golden flame,
And like the deep-sea blue became.
Balkis into her garden went;
Her spirit was in discontent
Like a torch in restless air.
Joylessly she wandered there,
And saw her city's azure white
Lying under the great night,
Beautiful as the memory
Of a worshipping world would be
In the mind of a god, in the hour
When he must kill his outward power;
And, coming to a pool where trees
Grew in double greeneries,
Saw herself, as she went by
The water, walking beautifully,
And saw the stars shine in the glance
Of her eyes, and her own fair countenance
Passing, pale and wonderful,
Across the night that filled the pool.
And cruel was the grief that played
With the queen's spirit; and she said:
'What do I here, reigning alone?
For to be unloved is to be alone.
There is no man in all my land
Dare my longing understand;
The whole folk like a peasant bows
Lest its look should meet my brows
And be harmed by this beauty of mine.
I burn their brains as I were sign
Of God's beautiful anger sent
To master them with punishment
Of beauty that must pour distress
On hearts grown dark with ugliness.
But it is I am the punisht one.
Is there no man, is there none,
In whom my beauty will but move
The lust of a delighted love;
In whom some spirit of God so thrives
That we may wed our lonely lives.
Is there no man, is there none? '—
She said, 'I will go to Solomon.'
Scheme | aabcddeeffgghhiijbkhlmnopqrrssttuuevwxyYz1 2 3 yy |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1100101 01100111 10111001 11110111 11101101 01011101 1010101 01010001 1010101 11101 01010101 1010011 10010100 10100111 0011010010 111111010 01010111 10101 1011111 01010100 01011001 1010011100 1010100 01011101 01010111 10110011 11111001 1110111101 11110111 111001 01110101 1111111 011111011 11111101 11100101 11011100 11011101 11111100 11111011 1111111 01110111 01100101 011101111 111110101 1111111 111111100 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,634 |
Words | 295 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 46 |
Lines Amount | 46 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,190 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 292 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:29 min read
- 35 Views
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"Song from Judith 3" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/25403/song-from-judith-3>.
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