Analysis of Beyond the Moon

Vachel Lindsay 1879 (Springfield) – 1931 (Springfield)



[Written to the Most Beautiful Woman in the World]

M< Sweetheart is the TRUTH BEYOND THE MOON,
And never have I been in love with Woman,
Always aspiring to be set in tune
With one who is invisible, inhuman.

O laughing girl, cold TRUTH has stepped between,
Spoiling the fevers of your virgin face:
Making your shining eyes but lead and clay,
Mocking your brilliant brain and lady's grace.

TRUTH haunted me the day I wooed and lost,
The day I wooed and won, or wooed in play:
Tho' you were Juliet or Rosalind,
Thus shall it be, forever and a day.

I doubt my vows, tho' sworn on my own blood,
Tho' I draw toward you weeping, soul to soul,
I have a lonely goal beyond the moon;
Ay, beyond Heaven and Hell, I have a goal!


Scheme X ABAB XCDC XDXD XEAE
Poetic Form
Metre 1010110010001 111010101 01011101110 101011101 11110100010 1101111101 1001011101 1011011101 1011010101 1101011101 0111011101 110101100 1111010001 1111111111 11101110111 1101010101 10110011101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 723
Words 140
Sentences 5
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 17
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 110
Words per stanza (avg) 28
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

42 sec read
151

Vachel Lindsay

Nicholas Vachel Lindsay was an American poet. more…

All Vachel Lindsay poems | Vachel Lindsay Books

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