Analysis of The Song of Callicles
Matthew Arnold 1822 (Laleham) – 1888 (Liverpool)
Through the black, rushing smoke-bursts,
Thick breaks the red flame.
All Etna heaves fiercely
Her forest-clothed frame.
Not here, O Apollo!
Are haunts meet for thee.
But, where Helicon breaks down
In cliff to the sea.
Where the moon-silver'd inlets
Send far their light voice
Up the still vale of Thisbe,
O speed, and rejoice!
On the sward at the cliff-top,
Lie strewn the white flocks;
On the cliff-side, the pigeons
Roost deep in the rocks.
In the moonlight the shepherds,
Soft lull'd by the rills,
Lie wrapt in their blankets,
Asleep on the hills.
—What forms are these coming
So white through the gloom?
What garments out-glistening
The gold-flower'd broom?
What sweet-breathing Presence
Out-perfumes the thyme?
What voices enrapture
The night's balmy prime?—
'Tis Apollo comes leading
His choir, The Nine.
—The Leader is fairest,
But all are divine.
They are lost in the hollows.
They stream up again.
What seeks on this mountain
The glorified train?—
They bathe on this mountain,
In the spring by their road.
Then on to Olympus,
Their endless abode.
—Whose praise do they mention:
Of what is it told?—
What will be for ever.
What was from of old.
First hymn they the Father
Of all things: and then,
The rest of Immortals,
The action of men.
The Day in his hotness,
The strife with the palm;
The Night in her silence,
The Stars in their calm.
Scheme | ABCB XCXC XDXD XEXE XAXX FGFG HIJI FKXK XLMX MNXN MOJO JLXL APHP |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (85%) |
Metre | 1011011 11011 110110 01011 111010 11111 111011 01101 10111 11111 101111 11001 1011011 11011 1011010 11001 001010 11101 110110 01101 111110 11101 1101100 01101 111010 10101 110010 01101 1010110 11001 010110 11101 1110010 11101 111110 0101 111110 001111 111010 11001 111110 11111 111110 11111 111010 11101 011010 01011 01011 01101 010010 01011 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,316 |
Words | 239 |
Sentences | 25 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 52 |
Letters per line (avg) | 20 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 81 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 18 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:12 min read
- 59 Views
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"The Song of Callicles" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/27294/the-song-of-callicles>.
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