Analysis of Campus Sonnets: Before An Examination
Stephen Vincent Benet 1898 (Bethlehem) – 1943 (New York City)
The little letters dance across the page,
Flaunt and retire, and trick the tired eyes;
Sick of the strain, the glaring light, I rise
Yawning and stretching, full of empty rage
At the dull maunderings of a long dead sage,
Fling up the windows, fling aside his lies;
Choosing to breathe, not stifle and be wise,
And let the air pour in upon my cage.
The breeze blows cool and there are stars and stars
Beyond the dark, soft masses of the elms
That whisper things in windy tones and light.
They seem to wheel for dim, celestial wars;
And I - I hear the clash of silver helms
Ring icy-clear from the far deeps of night.
Scheme | ABBAABBA XCDXCD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101010101 1001010101 1101010111 1001011101 10110010111 1101010111 1011110011 0101100111 0111011101 0101110101 1101010101 1111110101 0111011101 1101101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 623 |
Words | 119 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 240 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 59 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 35 sec read
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"Campus Sonnets: Before An Examination" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/35784/campus-sonnets%3A-before-an-examination>.
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