Analysis of Bound For California
With buoyant heart he left his home for that bright wond’rous land
Where gold ore gleams in countless mines, and gold dust strews the sand;
And youth’s dear ties were riven all, for as wild, as vain, a dream
As the meteor false that leads astray the traveller with its gleam.
Vainly his father frowned dissent, his mother, tearful, prayed,
Vainly his sisters, with fond words, his purpose would have stayed;
He heard them all with heedless ear, with dauntless heart and bold—
Whisp’ring to soothe each yearning fear “I go to win you gold.”
Restless he paced the deck until he saw the sails unfurled
Of the ship which was to bear him to that new and distant world;
And when his comrades stood with him and watched the lessening land,
His clear laugh rose the loudest ’mid that gay gold-seekers’ band.
In changing moods of grief and mirth the ocean way was passed,
And all were weary, when the cry of “Land” was heard at last.
Like birds escaped from thraldom long, the happy, smiling crowd
Thronged to the deck with eager looks, rejoicing long and loud.
Yet one was missing ’mid that band who foremost should have been,
Whose hopeful heart had cheered them oft when winds blew fierce and keen;
And when dead calms or drizzling rains made the ocean way seem long
Had wiled the time with lively tale, with jest, or stirring song.
But a sudden change had come o’er him, his ringing voice was hushed,
The smooth young cheek grew pallid, or, at times, was deeply flushed;
And now he lay in his lonely cot, a prey to sickness drear,
His frame all filled with racking pain—his heart with doubt and fear.
“Oh, raise me up,” he faintly breathed, “that I one glance may win
Of that long looked for promised land I ne’er may enter in;
Till I recall the tender words of friends, well loved of old—
The friends I left without a pang, in idle search for gold.”
The Exile’s prayer was soon obeyed, and round his fevered brow
The cool land breeze is playing, but death’s damps are on it now!
His spirit passed from earth away as Sol’s last dying beams
Lit up the golden Eldorado of all his boyish dreams.
Scheme | AABB CCDD EEAA FFGG HXII JJKK HHDD KXLL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (88%) |
Metre | 11011111111101 11110101011101 011101011111101 10100111010100111 10110101110101 10110111110111 111111111101 1111101111111 10110101110101 101111111110101 01111110101001 11110101111101 01011101010111 01010101111111 1101111010101 11011101010101 1111011111111 11011111111101 0111110011010111 11011101111101 101011111110111 01111101111101 011101101011101 11111101111101 11111101111111 11111101111100 1110101111111 01110101010111 0111101011101 01111101111111 11011101111101 11010010111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 2,115 |
Words | 388 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 51 |
Words per line (avg) | 12 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 204 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 48 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:56 min read
- 113 Views
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"Bound For California" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33017/bound-for-california>.
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