Analysis of Lake Leman
It is the sacred hour: above the far
Low emerald hills that northward fold,
Calmly, upon the blue the evening star
Floats, wreathed in dusky gold.
The winds have sung all day; but now they lie
Faint, sleeping; and the evening sounds awake.
The slow bell tolls across the water: I
Am haunted by the spirit of the lake.
It seems as though the sounding of the bell
Intoned the low song of the water-soul,
And at some moments I can hardly tell
The long-resounding echo from the toll.
O thou mysterious lake, thy spell
Holds all who round thy fruitful margin dwell.
Oft have I seen home-going peasants' eyes
Lit with the peace that emanates from thee.
Those who among thy waters plunge, arise
Filled with new wisdom and serenity.
Thy veins are in the mountains. I have heard,
Down-stretched beside thee at the silent noon,
With leaning head attentive to thy word,
A secret and delicious mountain-tune,
Proceeding as from many shadowed hours
In ancient forests carpeted with flowers,
Or far, where hidden waters, wandering
Through banks of snow, trickle, and meet, and sing.
Ah, what repose at noon to go,
Lean on thy bosom, hold thee with wide hands,
And listen for the music of the snow!
But most, as now,
When harvest covers thy surrounding lands,
I love thee, with a coronal of sheaves
Crowned regent of the day;
And on the air thy placid breathing leaves
A scent of corn and hay.
For thou hast gathered (as a mother will
The sayings of her children in her heart)
The harvest-thoughts of reapers on the hill,
When the cool rose and honeysuckle fill
The air, and fruit is laden on the cart.
Thou breathest the delight
Of summer evening at the deep-roofed farm,
And meditation of the summer night,
When the enravished earth is lying warm
From recent kisses of the conquering sun.
Dwell as a spirit in me, O thou one
Sweet natural presence. In the years to be
When all the mortal loves perchance are done,
Them I will bid farewell, but, oh, not thee.
I love thee. When the youthful visions fade,
Fade thou not also in the hopeless past.
Be constant and delightful, as a maid
Sought over all the world, and found at last.
Scheme | ABABCDCDEFEFEEGHGHIJIJKKLLMNMXNOPOPQRQQRSXSXT THTHUVUV |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010100101 11011101 1001010101 11011 0111111111 1100010101 0111010101 1101010101 1111010101 0101110101 0111011101 0101010101 110100111 1111110101 1111110101 1101110011 1101110101 1111000100 1110010111 1101110101 1101010111 0100010101 01011101010 01010100110 1111010100 1111100101 11011111 1111011111 0101010101 1111 1101010101 11110111 110101 0101110101 011101 1111010101 0101010001 010111101 101101001 0101110101 11001 1101010111 001010101 10111101 11010101001 1101001111 11001000111 1101010111 111111111 1111010101 1111000101 1100010101 1101010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,069 |
Words | 385 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 45, 8 |
Lines Amount | 53 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 832 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 192 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:55 min read
- 2 Views
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"Lake Leman" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/55499/lake-leman>.
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