Analysis of A Better Thing
George MacDonald 1824 (Huntly) – 1905 (Ashtead)
I took it for a bird of prey that soared
High over ocean, battled mount, and plain;
'Twas but a bird-moth, which with limp horns gored
The invisibly obstructing window-pane!
Better than eagle, with far-towering nerve
But downward bent, greedy, marauding eye,
Guest of the flowers, thou art: unhurt they serve
Thee, little angel of a lower sky!
Scheme | ABAB CDCD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Traditional rhyme Quatrain |
Metre | 1111011111 1101010101 1101111111 01010101 10110111001 1101100101 11010110111 1101010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 339 |
Words | 59 |
Sentences | 2 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 8 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 135 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 29 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 07, 2023
- 17 sec read
- 16 Views
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"A Better Thing" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/55360/a-better-thing>.
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