Analysis of To A Lady, With Falconer's 'Shipwreck'
Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1772 (Ottery St Mary) – 1834 (Highgate)
Oh! not by Cam or Isis, famous streams
In arched groves, the youthful poet's choice;
Nor while half-listening, mid delicious dreams,
To harp and song from lady's hand and voice;
Nor yet while gazing in sublimer mood
On cliff, or cataract, in Alpine dell;
Nor in dim cave with bladdery sea-weed strewed,
Framing wild fancies to the ocean's swell;
Our sea-bard sang this song! which still he sings,
And sings for thee, sweet friend! Hark, Pity, hark
Now mounts, now totters on the tempest's wings,
Now groans, and shivers, the replunging bark!
'Cling to the shrouds!' In vain! The breakers roar--
Death shrieks! With two alone of all his clan
Forlorn the poet paced the Grecian shore,
No classic roamer, but a ship-wrecked man!
Say then, what muse inspired these genial strains
And lit his spirit to so bright a flame?
The elevating thought of suffered pains,
Which gentle hearts shall mourn; but chief, the name
Of gratitude! remembrance of friend,
Or absent or no more! shades of the Past,
Which Loves make substance! Hence to thee I send,
O dear as long as life and memory last!
I send with deep regards of heart and head,
Sweet maid, for friendship formed! this work to thee
And thou, the while thou canst not choose but shed
A tear for Falconer, wilt remember me.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ KLKL MNMN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Traditional rhyme Quatrain |
Metre | 1111110101 011010101 11110010101 1101110101 11110011 111100011 101111111 1011010101 10111111111 0111111101 11111011 11010011 1101010101 1111011111 0101010101 110110111 11110101101 0111011101 010011101 1101111101 11001011 1101111101 1111011111 11111101001 1111011101 1111011111 0101111111 01110010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,251 |
Words | 226 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 141 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 32 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:08 min read
- 56 Views
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"To A Lady, With Falconer's 'Shipwreck'" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/34379/to-a-lady%2C-with-falconer%27s-%27shipwreck%27>.
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