Analysis of Be Still

Trumbull Stickney 1874 (Geneva) – 1904



Be still. The Hanging Gardens were a dream
That over Persian roses flew to kiss
The curlèd lashes of Semiramis.
Troy never was, nor green Skamander stream.
Provence and Troubadour are merest lies
The glorious hair of Venice was a beam
Made within Titian's eye. The sunsets seem,
The world is very old and nothing is.
Be still. Thou foolish thing, thou canst not wake,
Nor thy tears wedge thy soldered lids apart,
But patter in the darkness of thy heart.
Thy brain is plagued. Thou art a frighted owl
Blind with the light of life thou 'ldst not forsake,
And Error loves and nourishes thy soul.


Scheme ABBACAADEFFGEH
Poetic Form
Metre 1101010001 1101010111 0111011 11011111 100101101 01001110101 10111011 0111010101 1111011111 111111101 1100010111 111111011 11011111101 0101010011
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 597
Words 109
Sentences 10
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 468
Words per stanza (avg) 107
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
47

Trumbull Stickney

Joseph Trumbull Stickney was an American classical scholar and poet. more…

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