Analysis of Retrospect
Rupert Brooke 1887 (Rugby) – 1915 (Aegean Sea)
In your arms was still delight,
Quiet as a street at night;
And thoughts of you, I do remember,
Were green leaves in a darkened chamber,
Were dark clouds in a moonless sky.
Love, in you, went passing by,
Penetrative, remote, and rare,
Like a bird in the wide air,
And, as the bird, it left no trace
In the heaven of your face.
In your stupidity I found
The sweet hush after a sweet sound.
All about you was the light
That dims the greying end of night;
Desire was the unrisen sun,
Joy the day not yet begun,
With tree whispering to tree,
Without wind, quietly.
Wisdom slept within your hair,
And Long-Suffering was there,
And, in the flowing of your dress,
Undiscerning Tenderness.
And when you thought, it seemed to me,
Infinitely, and like a sea,
About the slight world you had known
Your vast unconsciousness was thrown. . . .
O haven without wave or tide!
Silence, in which all songs have died!
Holy book, where hearts are still!
And home at length under the hill!
O mother quiet, breasts of peace,
Where love itself would faint and cease!
O infinite deep I never knew,
I would come back, come back to you,
Find you, as a pool unstirred,
Kneel down by you, and never a word,
Lay my head, and nothing said,
In your hands, ungarlanded;
And a long watch you would keep;
And I should sleep, and I should sleep!
Mataiea, January 1914
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFAAGGHHDDXXHHII JJKKLLMMAXXANN H |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0111101 1010111 011111010 011001010 0110011 1011101 10101 1010011 01011111 0010111 01010011 01110011 1011101 11010111 0101011 1011101 1110011 011100 1010111 0110011 00010111 1100 01111111 10000101 01011111 1110011 11001111 10011111 1011111 01111001 11010111 11011101 110011101 11111111 111011 111101001 1110101 0111 0011111 01110111 1100 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,300 |
Words | 248 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 26, 14, 1 |
Lines Amount | 41 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 341 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 83 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:14 min read
- 106 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Retrospect" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33715/retrospect>.
Discuss this Rupert Brooke 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