Analysis of A Sphinx
Carl Sandburg 1878 (Galesburg) – 1967 (Flat Rock)
Close-mouthed you sat five thousand years and never let out a whisper.
Processions came by, marchers, asking questions you answered with grey eyes never blinking, shut lips never talking.
Not one croak of anything you know has come from your cat crouch of ages.
I am one of those who know all you know and I keep my questions: I know the answers you hold.
| Scheme | ABCD |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 1111110101011010 010111010101101111010111010 11111011111111110 11111111110111101101011 |
| Characters | 363 |
| Words | 67 |
| Sentences | 5 |
| Stanzas | 1 |
| Stanza Lengths | 4 |
| Lines Amount | 4 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 71 |
| Words per line (avg) | 16 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 282 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 65 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 20 sec read
- 475 Views
5 fans
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"A Sphinx" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/4591/a-sphinx>.
Powered by CITE.ME
Discuss this Carl Sandburg poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In