Sonnet XVIII: Genius in Beauty
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828 (London) – 1882 (Birchington-on-Sea)
Beauty like hers is genius. Not the call
Of Homer's or of Dante's heart sublime,—
Not Michael's hand furrowing the zones of time,—
Is more with compassed mysteries musical;
Nay, not in Spring's or Summer's sweet footfall
More gathered gifts exuberant Life bequeaths
Than doth this sovereign face, whose love-spell breathes
Even from its shadowed contour on the wall.
As many men are poets in their youth,
But for one sweet-strung soul the wires prolong
Even through all change the indomitable song;
So in like wise the envenomed years, whose tooth
Rends shallower grace with ruin void of ruth,
Upon this beauty's power shall wreak no wrong.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 35 sec read
- 125 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBCADDAEFFEEF |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 639 |
Words | 111 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
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"Sonnet XVIII: Genius in Beauty" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/7685/sonnet-xviii:--genius-in-beauty>.
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