Analysis of The Atheist

Aleister Crowley 1875 (Leamington Spa) – 1947 (Hastings)



Nor thou, Habib, nor I are glad,
when rosy limbs and sweat entwine;
But rapture drowns the sense and self,
the wine the drawer of the wine,

And Him that planted first the grape-
o podex, in thy vault there dwells
A charm to make the member mad,
And shake the marrow of the spine.

O member, in thy stubborn strenght
a power avails on podex-sense
To boil the blood in breast and brain;
shudder the nreves incarnadine!

From me thou drawest pearly drink -
and in its pourings both are drunk.
The Iman drives forth the drunken man
from out the marble prayer-shrine.

Blue Mushtari strove with red Mirrikh
which should be master of the night-
But where is Mushtari, where Mirrikh
when in the sky the sun doth shine?

Now El Qahar to Hazif gives
the worship unto poets due : -
But songs are nought and Music all;
what poet music may define?

Allah's the atheist! he owns
no Allah. Sneer, thou dullard churl!
The Sufi worships not, but drinks,
being himself the all-divine.

Come, my Habib, the roses blush,
the waters gleam, the bulbul sings -
To pierce thy podex El Quahar's
urgent and and imminent design!


Scheme ABXB XCAB AXXB DXXB DXDB XXEB XEXB XXCB
Poetic Form
Metre 11011111 11010101 11010101 0101101 01110101 1101111 01110101 01010101 11001101 0101111 11010101 10011 1111101 0011111 010110101 1101011 111111 11110101 111111 10010111 111111 01010101 11110101 11010101 1010011 1101111 0110111 10010101 11010101 0101011 111111 100010001
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,073
Words 202
Sentences 12
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 107
Words per stanza (avg) 25
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 22, 2023

1:01 min read
75

Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley, born Edward Alexander Crowley, was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, and mountaineer. more…

All Aleister Crowley poems | Aleister Crowley Books

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