Analysis of Sonnet XVII: Beauty's Pageant

Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828 (London) – 1882 (Birchington-on-Sea)



What dawn-pulse at the heart of heaven, or last
Incarnate flower of culminating day,—
What marshalled marvels on the skirts of May,
Or song full-quired, sweet June's encomiast;
What glory of change by Nature's hand amass'd
Can vie with all those moods of varying grace
Which o'er one loveliest woman's form and face
Within this hour, within this room, have pass'd?
Love's very vesture and elect disguise
Was each fine movement,—wonder new-begot
Of lily or swan or swan-stemmed galiot;
Joy to his sight who now the sadlier sighs,
Parted again; and sorrow yet for eyes
Unborn, that read these words and saw her not.


Scheme ABBAACCADEADDF
Poetic Form
Metre 11110111011 0101011001 1101010111 1111111 11011110101 11111111001 1101110101 01110011111 110100101 1111010101 110111111 11111101001 1001010111 1111110101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 612
Words 108
Sentences 3
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 483
Words per stanza (avg) 104
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

34 sec read
104

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. more…

All Dante Gabriel Rossetti poems | Dante Gabriel Rossetti Books

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