Analysis of O Dull Cold Northern Sky
Robert Louis Stevenson 1850 (Edinburgh) – 1894 (Vailima, Samoa)
O DULL cold northern sky,
O brawling sabbath bells,
O feebly twittering Autumn bird that tells
The year is like to die!
O still, spoiled trees, O city ways,
O sun desired in vain,
O dread presentiment of coming rain
That cloys the sullen days!
Thee, heart of mine, I greet.
In what hard mountain pass
Striv'st thou? In what importunate morass
Sink now thy weary feet?
Thou run'st a hopeless race
To win despair. No crown
Awaits success, but leaden gods look down
On thee, with evil face.
And those that would befriend
And cherish thy defeat,
With angry welcome shall turn sour the sweet
Home-coming of the end.
Yea, those that offer praise
To idleness, shall yet
Insult thee, coming glorious in the sweat
Of honourable ways.
Scheme | ABBA CDDC EFFE GHHG IEEI CJJC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 111101 110101 110110111 011111 11111101 1101001 1111101 110101 111111 011101 1101101 111101 1110101 110111 0101110111 111101 011101 010101 11010111001 110101 111101 110011 01110100001 111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 711 |
Words | 131 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 95 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 28, 2023
- 39 sec read
- 200 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"O Dull Cold Northern Sky" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 7 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/31654/o-dull-cold-northern-sky>.
Discuss this Robert Louis Stevenson poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In