Analysis of To A Lost Love

Stephen Phillips 1864 (Somertown) – 1915



I cannot look upon thy grave,
Though there the rose is sweet:
Better to hear the long wave wash
These wastes about my feet!

Shall I take comfort? Dost thou live
A spirit, though afar,
With a deep hush about thee, like
The stillness round a star?

Oh, thou art cold! In that high sphere
Thou art a thing apart,
Losing in saner happiness
This madness of the heart.

And yet, at times, thou still shalt feel
A passing breath, a pain;
Disturb'd, as though a door in heaven
Had oped and closed again.

And thou shalt shiver, while the hymns,
The solemn hymns, shall cease;
A moment half remember me:
Then turn away to peace.

But oh, for evermore thy look,
Thy laugh, thy charm, thy tone,
Thy sweet and wayward earthliness,
Dear trivial things, are gone!

Therefore I look not on thy grave,
Though there the rose is sweet;
But rather hear the loud wave wash
These wastes about my feet.


Scheme aBcB xdxd xefe xxxx xgxg xxfx aBcB
Poetic Form Quatrain  (71%)
Metre 11010111 110111 10110111 110111 11110111 010101 10110111 010101 11110111 110101 10010100 110101 01111111 010101 011101010 110101 01110101 010111 01010101 110111 1111011 111111 110101 1100111 1111111 110111 11010111 110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 866
Words 169
Sentences 9
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 97
Words per stanza (avg) 23
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

51 sec read
2

Stephen Phillips

Stephen Phillips (28 July 1864 – 9 December 1915) was an English poet and dramatist, who enjoyed considerable popularity early in his career. more…

All Stephen Phillips poems | Stephen Phillips Books

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