Analysis of A Stream’s Singing
Dinah Maria Mulock Craik 1826 (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire) – 1887 (Shortlands, London)
O HOW beautiful is Morning!
How the sunbeams strike the daisies,
And the kingcups fill the meadow
Like a golden-shielded army
Marching to the uplands fair;--
I am going forth to battle,
And life's uplands rise before me,
And my golden shield is ready,
And I pause a moment, timing
My heart's pæan to the waters,
As with cheerful song incessant
Onwards runs the little stream;
Singing ever, onward ever,
Boldly runs the merry stream.
O how glorious is Noon-day!
With the cool large shadows lying
Underneath the giant forest,
The far hill-tops towering dimly
O'er the conquered plains below;--
I am conquering--I shall conquer
In life's battle-field impetuous:
And I lie and listen dreamy
To a double-voiced, low music,--
Tender beech-trees sheeny shiver
Mingled with the diapason
Of the strong, deep, joyful stream,
Like a man's love and a woman's;
So it runs--the happy stream!
O how grandly cometh Even,
Sitting on the mountain summit,
Purple-vestured, grave, and silent,
Watching o'er the dewy valleys,
Like a good king near his end:--
I have labored, I have governed;
Now I feel the gathering shadows
Of the night that closes all things:
And the fair earth fades before me,
And the stars leap out in heaven,
While into the infinite darkness
Solemn runs the steadfast stream--
Onward, onward, ceaseless, fearless,
Singing runs the eternal stream.
Scheme | ABCDXXDDAXEFGF XAXDCGHDXGIFXF IXEBXXXXDIHFHF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11100110 1011010 001101 10101010 1010101 11101110 01101011 01101110 01101010 11111010 11101010 1010101 10101010 1010101 11100111 1011110 0101010 011110010 10010101 111001110 01101010 01101010 10101110 1011110 10101 1011101 10110010 1110101 11101010 10101010 1011010 101001010 1011111 11101110 11101001 10111011 00111011 00111010 101010010 101011 10101010 10100101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,357 |
Words | 230 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 14, 14, 14 |
Lines Amount | 42 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 352 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 75 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:11 min read
- 81 Views
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"A Stream’s Singing" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/7980/a-stream%E2%80%99s-singing>.
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