Analysis of Ballad for Gloom
Ezra Pound 1885 (Hailey) – 1972 (Venice)
For God, our God is a gallant foe
That playeth behind the veil.
I have loved my God as a child at heart
That seeketh deep bosoms for rest,
I have loved my God as a maid to man—
But lo, this thing is best:
To love your God as a gallant foe that plays behind the veil;
To meet your God as the night winds meet beyond Arcturus' pale.
I have played with God for a woman,
I have staked with my God for truth,
I have lost to my God as a man, clear-eyed—
His dice be not of ruth.
For I am made as a naked blade,
But hear ye this thing in sooth:
Who loseth to God as man to man
Shall win at the turn of the game.
I have drawn my blade where the lightnings meet
But the ending is the same:
Who loseth to God as the sword blades lose
Shall win at the end of the game.
For God, our God is a gallant foe that playeth behind the veil.
Whom God deigns not to overthrow hath need of triple mail.
Scheme | XA XBCB AA XDXD XD CEXEXE AA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1110110101 110101 1111110111 111111 1111110111 111111 111110101110101 11111011101101 111111010 11111111 11111110111 111111 111110101 1111101 11111111 11101101 1111110101 1010101 111110111 11101101 1110110101110101 1111110111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 892 |
Words | 191 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 4, 2, 4, 2, 6, 2 |
Lines Amount | 22 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 96 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 16, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 241 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Ballad for Gloom" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13203/ballad-for-gloom>.
Discuss this Ezra Pound poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In