Analysis of A Prayer For Light.
Eric Mackay 1835 – 1898
Oh, give me light, to-day, or let me die, -
The light of love, the love-light of the sky, -
That I, at length, may see my darling's face
One minute's space.
Have I not wept to know myself so weak
That I can feel, not see, the dimpled cheek,
The lips, the eyes, the sunbeams that enfold
Her locks of gold?
Have I not sworn that I will not be wed,
But mate my soul with hers on my death-bed?
The soul can see, - for souls are seraphim, -
When eyes are dim.
Oh, hush! she comes. I know her. She is nigh.
She brings me death, true heart, and I will die.
She brings me love, for love and life are one
Beyond the sun.
This is the measure, this, of all my joys:
Life is a curse and Death's a counterpoise.
Give me thy hand, O sweet one, let me know
Which path I go.
I cannot die if thou be not a-near,
To lead me on to Life's appointed sphere.
O spirit-face, O angel, with thy breath
Kiss me to death!
Scheme | AABB CCDD EEFF AAGG XBHH IIJJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 1111111111 0111011101 111111111 1101 111111111 1111110101 010101101 0111 1111111111 1111101111 01111111 1111 1111110111 1111110111 1111110111 0101 1101011111 11010101 1111111111 1111 1101111101 1111110101 1101110111 1111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 936 |
Words | 208 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 109 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 31 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:03 min read
- 19 Views
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