Analysis of A Sunset

William Watson 1858 (Burley in Wharfedale) – 1935 (Rottingdean)



Westward a league the city lay, with one
Cloud's imminent umbrage o'er it: when behold,
The incendiary sun
Dropped from the womb o' the vapour, rolled
'Mongst huddled towers and temples, 'twixt them set
Infinite ardour of candescent gold,
Encompassed minaret
And terrace and marmoreal spire
With conflagration: roofs enfurnaced, yet
Unmolten,-columns and cupolas flanked with fire,
Yet standing unconsumed
Of the fierce fervency,-and higher
Than all, their fringes goldenly illumed,
Dishevelled clouds, like massed empurpled smoke
From smouldering forges fumed:
Till suddenly the bright spell broke
With the sun sinking through some palace-floor
And vanishing wholly. Then the city woke,
Her mighty Fire-Dream o'er,
As who from out a sleep is raised
Of terrible loveliness, lasting hardly more
Than one most monumental moment; dazed
He looketh, having come
Forth of one world and witless gazed
Into another: ev'n so looked, for some
Brief while, the city-amazed, immobile, dumb.


Scheme ABABCBCDCEBEBFGFHFEIHIJIJJ
Poetic Form
Metre 1001010111 110010101101 0010001 11011011 11010010111 1001111 01001 010011 1010111 110011110 1101 1011010 1111011 111111 11101 11000111 1011011101 01001010101 01010110 11110111 1100110101 111010101 11101 11110101 01010111111 11010010101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 961
Words 153
Sentences 3
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 26
Lines Amount 26
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 791
Words per stanza (avg) 149
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

47 sec read
79

William Watson

William Watson, was a surgeon in the 105th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers during the American Civil War. more…

All William Watson poems | William Watson Books

0 fans

Discuss this William Watson poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "A Sunset" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41976/a-sunset>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    2
    hours
    24
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the _______
    A change
    B difference
    C choice
    D sense