Analysis of Mystique: Reflections on a Painting by Paul Delvaux



Banished to a treeless valley
bound by mountains and an ice-clogged bay
several identical young ladies
patient under the brief sun
sit erect in straight back chairs
outside the plain doors of facing bungalows
hands interlocked on their laps
thighs and ankles touching under silk gowns
in their faces aspects of drifting snow
in their eyes a memory of the moon
framed in the frost of their windows

Far from buxom peasants stacking straw
or mannequins kicking net-stockinged legs
or tilted angels gilded in palpable piety
or naive ballerinas bathed in chiffon auras
theirs are wistful and immaculate forms
as stark as their mountains
as chaste as their sorrows
and as terrible as the sea


Scheme AXBXXCXXXXC XXABXXCA
Poetic Form
Metre 10101010 111001111 100100110 1010011 1010111 1101111010 101111 1010101011 011011101 0110100101 10011110 111010101 110010111 11010100100100 1101010011 1110001001 111110 111110 01100101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 667
Words 115
Sentences 1
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 11, 8
Lines Amount 19
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 285
Words per stanza (avg) 58
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 01, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

34 sec read
2

Discuss this John Richard Williams poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Mystique: Reflections on a Painting by Paul Delvaux" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/79864/mystique%3A-reflections-on-a-painting-by-paul-delvaux>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    More poems by

    John Richard Williams

    »

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    1
    hour
    48
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "Dreams"?
    A Langston Hughes
    B Gerard Manley Hopkins
    C John Donne
    D Thomas Hardy