Analysis of On Hearing The Princess Royal Sing
Victor Marie Hugo 1802 (Besançon) – 1885 (Paris)
In thine abode so high
Where yet one scarce can breathe,
Dear child, most tenderly
A soft song thou dost wreathe.
Thou singest, little girl--
Thy sire, the King is he:
Around thee glories whirl,
But all things sigh in thee.
Thy thought may seek not wings
Of speech; dear love's forbidden;
Thy smiles, those heavenly things,
Being faintly born, are chidden.
Thou feel'st, poor little Bride,
A hand unknown and chill
Clasp thine from out the wide
Deep shade so deathly still.
Thy sad heart, wingless, weak,
Is sunk in this black shade
So deep, thy small hands seek,
Vainly, the pulse God made.
Thou art yet but highness, thou
That shaft be majesty:
Though still on thy fair brow
Some faint dawn-flush may be,
Child, unto armies dear,
Even now we mark heaven's light
Dimmed with the fume and fear
And glory of battle-might.
Thy godfather is he,
Earth's Pope,--he hails thee, child!
Passing, armed men you see
Like unarmed women, mild.
As saint all worship thee;
Thyself even hast the strong
Thrill of divinity
Mingled with thy small song.
Each grand old warrior
Guards thee, submissive, proud;
Mute thunders at thy door
Sleep, that shall wake most loud.
Around thee foams the wild
Bright sea, the lot of kings.
Happier wert thou, my child,
I' the woods a bird that sings!
Scheme | XABA CBCB DEDE FGFG HIHI JBJB KLKL BMBM BNBN XOXO MDMD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 010111 111111 111100 011111 11101 1100111 011101 111101 111111 1111100 1111001 1010111 1111101 010101 111101 111101 11111 110111 111111 100111 1111101 111100 111111 111111 110101 10111101 110101 0101101 11011 111111 101111 101101 111101 110101 110100 101111 111100 110101 110111 111111 011101 110111 1001111 1010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,233 |
Words | 227 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 44 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 90 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 20 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:09 min read
- 76 Views
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"On Hearing The Princess Royal Sing" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/37786/on-hearing-the-princess-royal-sing>.
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