Analysis of When It Clears Up
Boris Pasternak 1890 (Moscow) – 1960 (Peredelkino)
The lake is like a giant saucer;
Beyond-a gathering of clouds;
Like stern and dazzling mountain-ranges
Their massif the horizon crowds.
And with the light that swiftly changes,
The landscape never stays the same.
One moment clad in sooty shadows,
The next-the woods are all aflame.
When, after days of rainy weather,
The heavy curtain is withdrawn,
How festive is the sky, burst open!
How full of triumph is the lawn!
The wind dies down, the distance lightens,
And sunshine spreads upon the grass;
The steaming foliage is translucent
Like figures in stained-window glass.
Thus from the church's narrow windows
In glimmering crowns, on spreading wings
Gaze into time in sleepless vigil
Saints, hermits, prophets, angels, kings.
The whole wide world is a cathedral;
I stand inside, the air is calm,
And from afar at times there reaches
My ear the echo of a psalm.
World, Nature, Universe's Essence,
With secret trembling, to the end,
I will thy long and moving service
In tears of happiness attend.
Scheme | ABCB CDED AFXF XGXG EHIH IXCX XJXJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (86%) |
Metre | 011101010 01010011 1101001010 10100101 010111010 0110101 11010101 01011101 110111010 01010101 110101110 11110101 011101010 0110101 010101010 11001101 110101010 010011101 101101010 11010101 011110010 11010111 010111110 11010101 110110 110100101 111101010 01110001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 977 |
Words | 169 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 113 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 51 sec read
- 108 Views
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"When It Clears Up" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/4569/when-it-clears-up>.
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