Shelley

Henry Van Dyke 1852 (Germantown, Pennsylvania) – 1933 (Princeton, New Jersey)



Knight-errant of the Never-ending Quest,
And Minstrel of the Unfulfilled Desire;
For ever tuning thy frail earthly lyre
To some unearthly music, and possessed
With painful passionate longing to invest
The golden dream of Love's immortal fire
In mortal robes of beautiful attire,
And fold perfection to thy throbbing breast!

What wonder, Shelley, if the restless wave
Should claim thee and the leaping flame consume
Thy drifted form on Viareggio's beach?
Fate to thy body gave a fitting grave,
And bade thy soul ride on with fiery plume,
Thy wild song ring in ocean's yearning speech!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 26, 2023

30 sec read
108

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABXAABBA CDECDE
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 584
Words 98
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 6

Henry Van Dyke

Henry Jackson van Dyke was an American author, educator, and clergyman. more…

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