Analysis of Caught In The Ebbing Tide: A Reminiscence Of Raxtox Cliffs

Theodore Watts-Dunton 1832 (United Kingdom) – 1914 (London Borough of Wandsworth)



The mightiest Titan's stroke could not withstand
An ebbing tide like this. These swirls denote
How wind and tide conspire. I can but float
To the open sea and strike no more for land.
Farewell, brown cliffs, farewell, beloved sand
Her feet have pressed--farewell, dear little boat
Where Gelert, calmly sitting on my coat,
Unconscious of my peril, gazes bland!

All dangers grip me save the deadliest, fear:
Yet these air-pictures of the past that glide--
These death-mirages o'er the heaving tide--
Showing two lovers in an alcove clear,
Will break my heart. I see them and I hear
As there they sit at morning, side by side.


Scheme ABBAABBA CDDCXD
Poetic Form
Metre 0100111101 1101111101 11010101111 10101011111 1111011 011111101 111010111 101110101 11011101001 1111010111 11010100101 101100111 1111111011 1111110111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 618
Words 110
Sentences 7
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 6
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 245
Words per stanza (avg) 54
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
102

Theodore Watts-Dunton

Theodore Watts-Dunton was an English critic and poet. He is often remembered as the friend and minder of Algernon Charles Swinburne, whom he rescued from alcoholism. more…

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