A Sonnet (Two Voices Are There)

James Kenneth Stephen 1859 (London) – 1892



Two voices are there: one is of the deep;
It learns the storm-cloud's thunderous melody,
Now roars, now murmurs with the changing sea,
Now bird-like pipes, now closes soft in sleep:
And one is of an old half-witted sheep
Which bleats articulate monotony,
And indicates that two and one are three,
That grass is green, lakes damp, and mountains steep:
And, Wordsworth, both are thine: at certain times
Forth from the heart of thy melodious rhymes,
The form and pressure of high thoughts will burst:
At other times -- good Lord! I'd rather be
Quite unacquainted with the A.B.C.
Than write such hopeless rubbish as thy worst.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
130

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBAABBACCDBED
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 617
Words 111
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

James Kenneth Stephen

James Kenneth Stephen was an English poet, and tutor to Prince Albert Victor, eldest son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. more…

All James Kenneth Stephen poems | James Kenneth Stephen Books

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    "A Sonnet (Two Voices Are There)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/20204/a-sonnet-(two-voices-are-there)>.

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