Analysis of Last Man, The
Thomas Campbell 1777 (Glasgow) – 1844 (Boulogne-sur-Mer)
All worldly shapes shall melt in gloom,
The Sun himself must die,
Before this mortal shall assume
Its Immortality!
I saw a vision in my sleep
That gave my spirit strength to sweep
Adown the gulf of Time!
I saw the last of human mould,
That shall Creation's death behold,
As Adam saw her prime!
The Sun's eye had a sickly glare,
The Earth with age was wan,
The skeletons of nations were
Around that lonely man!
Some had expired in fight,--the brands
Still rested in their bony hands;
In plague and famine some!
Earth's cities had no sound nor tread;
And ships were drifting with the dead
To shores where all was dumb!
Yet, prophet-like, that lone one stood
With dauntless words and high,
That shook the sere leaves from the wood
As if a storm passed by,
Saying, "We are twins in death, proud Sun,
Thy face is cold, thy race is run,
'Tis Mercy bids thee go.
For thou ten thousand thousand years
Hast seen the tide of human tears,
That shall no longer flow.
"What though beneath thee man put forth
His pomp, his pride, his skill;
And arts that made fire, floods, and earth,
The vassals of his will;--
Yet mourn not I thy parted sway,
Thou dim discrowned king of day:
For all those trophied arts
And triumphs that beneath thee sprang,
Healed not a passion or a pang
Entailed on human hearts.
"Go, let oblivion's curtain fall
Upon the stage of men,
Nor with thy rising beams recall
Life's tragedy again.
Its piteous pageants bring not back,
Nor waken flesh, upon the rack
Of pain anew to writhe;
Stretched in disease's shapes abhorred,
Or mown in battle by the sword,
Like grass beneath the scythe.
"Ee'n I am weary in yon skies
To watch thy fading fire;
Test of all sumless agonies
Behold not me expire.
My lips that speak thy dirge of death--
Their rounded gasp and gurgling breath
To see thou shalt not boast.
The eclipse of Nature spreads my pall,--
The majesty of Darkness shall
Receive my parting ghost!
"This spirit shall return to Him
That gave its heavenly spark;
Yet think not, Sun, it shall be dim
When thou thyself art dark!
No! it shall live again, and shine
In bliss unknown to beams of thine,
By Him recalled to breath,
Who captive led captivity.
Who robbed the grave of Victory,--
And took the sting from Death!
"Go, Sun, while Mercy holds me up
On Nature's awful waste
To drink this last and bitter cup
Of grief that man shall taste--
Go, tell the night that hides thy face,
Thou saw'st the last of Adam's race,
On Earth's sepulchral clod,
The darkening universe defy
To quench his Immortality,
Or shake his trust in God!"
Scheme | ABACDDEFFE XXGXHHIJJI KBKBLLMXXM XNXNOOPQQP RSRSTTUVVU XGXXWWXXXX YZYZ1 1 WCCW 2 3 2 3 4 4 BBCX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (39%) Etheree (25%) |
Metre | 11011101 010111 01110101 10100 11010011 11110111 10111 11011101 111101 110101 01110101 011111 01001100 011101 11010101 11001101 010101 11011111 01010101 111111 11011111 11101 11011101 110111 101110111 11111111 110111 11110101 11011101 111101 11011111 111111 011110101 010111 11111101 111111 11111 01010111 11010101 011101 111101 010111 1111011 110001 1110111 11010101 110111 10010101 11010101 110101 111110011 1111010 1111100 011101 11111111 110101001 111111 001110111 01001101 011101 11010111 1111001 11111111 11111 11110101 01011111 110111 11010100 11011100 010111 11110111 110101 11110101 111111 11011111 111011101 1111 01001001 1110100 111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,542 |
Words | 472 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 |
Lines Amount | 80 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 246 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 58 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:24 min read
- 57 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Last Man, The" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/36112/last-man%2C-the>.
Discuss this Thomas Campbell 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