Analysis of One Year After
Claude McKay 1889 (Clarendon Parish) – 1948 (Chicago)
Not once in all our days of poignant love,
Did I a single instant give to thee
My undivided being wholly free.
Not all thy potent passion could remove
The barrier that loomed between to prove
The full supreme surrendering of me.
Oh, I was beaten, helpless utterly
Against the shadow-fact with which I strove.
For when a cruel power forced me to face
The truth which poisoned our illicit wine,
That even I was faithless to my race
Bleeding beneath the iron hand of thine,
Our union seemed a monstrous thing and base!
I was an outcast from thy world and mine.
Adventure-seasoned and storm-buffeted,
I shun all signs of anchorage, because
The zest of life exceeds the bound of laws.
New gales of tropic fury round my head
Break lashing me through hours of soulful dread;
But when the terror thins and, spent, withdraws,
Leaving me wondering awhile, I pause--
But soon again the risky ways I tread!
No rigid road for me, no peace, no rest,
While molten elements run through my blood;
And beauty-burning bodies manifest
Their warm, heart-melting motions to be wooed;
And passion boldly rising in my breast,
Like rivers of the Spring, lets loose its flood.
Scheme | XAABBAAXCDCDCD XEEFFEEFGHGXGH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011011101 1101010111 101010101 1111010101 0100110111 0101010011 1111010100 010111111 11010101111 01110100101 110111111 1001010111 10101010101 111111101 010100101 1111110001 0111010111 1111010111 11011101101 1101010101 1011000111 1101010111 1101111111 1101001111 010101010 1111010111 0101010011 1101011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,163 |
Words | 207 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 14, 14 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 457 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 102 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 11, 2023
- 1:02 min read
- 69 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"One Year After" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6878/one-year-after>.
Discuss this Claude McKay 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