Envoi

Algernon Charles Swinburne 1837 (London) – 1909 (London)



Fly, white butterflies, out to sea,
Frail pale wings for the winds to try,
Small white wings that we scarce can see
  Fly.

Here and there may a chance-caught eye
Note in a score of you twain or three
Brighter or darker of tinge or dye.

Some fly light as a laugh of glee,
Some fly soft as a low long sigh:
All to the haven where each would be
  Fly.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 09, 2023

21 sec read
447

Quick analysis:

Scheme abaB bab abaB
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 346
Words 73
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 3, 4

Algernon Charles Swinburne

Algernon Charles Swinburne was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as Poems and Ballads, and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. Swinburne wrote about many taboo topics, such as lesbianism, cannibalism, sado-masochism, and anti-theism. His poems have many common motifs, such as the ocean, time, and death. Several historical people are featured in his poems, such as Sappho ("Sapphics"), Anactoria ("Anactoria"), Jesus ("Hymn to Proserpine": Galilaee, La. "Galilean") and Catullus ("To Catullus"). more…

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