Analysis of The Song of Tigilau
Marcus Clarke 1846 (Kensington) – 1881 (Melbourne)
The song of Tigilau the brave,
Sina's wild lover,
Who across the heaving wave
From Samoa came over:
Came over, Sina, at the setting moon!
The moon shines round and bright;
She, with her dark-eyed maidens at her side,
Watches the rising tide.
While balmy breathes the starry southern night,
While languid heaves the lazy southern tide;
The rising tide, O Sina, and the setting moon!
The night is past, is past and gone,
The moon sinks to the West,
The sea-heart beats opprest,
And Sina's passionate breast
Heaves like the sea, when the pale moon has gone,
Heaves like the passionate sea, Sina, left by the moon alone!
Silver on silver sands, the rippling waters meet --
Will he come soon?
The rippling waters kiss her delicate feet,
The rippling waters, lisping low and sweet,
Ripple with the tide,
The rising tide,
The rising tide, O Sina, and the setting moon!
He comes! -- her lover!
Tigilau, the son of Tui Viti.
Her maidens round her hover,
The rising waves her white feet cover.
O Tigilau, son of Tui Viti,
Through the mellow dusk thy proas glide,
So soon!
So soon by the rising tide,
The rising tide, my Sina, and the setting moon!
The mooring-poles are left,
The whitening waves are cleft,
By the prows of Tui Viti!
By the sharp keels of Tui Viti!
Broad is the sea, and deep,
The yellow Samoans sleep,
But they will wake and weep --
Weep in their luxurious odorous vales,
While the land breeze swells the sails
Of Tui Viti!
Tui Viti -- far upon the rising tide,
The rising tide --
The rising tide, my Sina, beneath the setting moon!
She leaps to meet him!
Her mouth to greet him
Burns at his own.
Away! To the canoes,
To the yoked war canoes!
The sea in murmurous tone
Whispers the story of their loves,
Re-echoes the story of their loves --
The story of Tui Viti,
Of Sina and Tui Viti,
By the rising tide,
The rising tide, Sina, beneath the setting moon!
She has gone!
She has fled!
Sina!
Sina, for whom the warriors decked their shining hair,
Wreathing with pearls their bosoms brown and bare,
Flinging beneath her dainty feet
Mats crimson with the feathers of the parrakeet.
Ho, Samoans! rouse your warriors full soon,
For Sina is across the rippling wave,
With Tigilau, the bold and brave.
Far, far upon the rising tide!
Far upon the rising tide!
Far upon the rising tide, Sina, beneath the setting moon.
Scheme | ababc deedeC fgdgfh iciieEC bjbbjecec kkjjlllmmjeEc nnhoohppjjec fxcqqidcaaeec |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 011101 1110 1010101 1010110 110110101 011101 1101110101 100101 1101010101 1101010101 01011100101 01111101 011101 01111 011001 1101101111 11010011110101 1011010100101 1111 010010101001 0100101101 10101 0101 01011100101 11010 1011110 0101010 010101110 1111110 10101111 11 1110101 01011100101 010111 0100111 1011110 10111110 110101 01011 111101 10101001001 1011101 1110 1101010101 0101 010111010101 11111 01111 1111 011001 101101 01011 10010111 110010111 0101110 110110 10101 01011010101 111 111 1 111010011101 11111101 10010101 1101010101 111110011 1110101001 110101 11010101 1010101 10101011010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,497 |
Words | 424 |
Sentences | 31 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 6, 6, 7, 9, 13, 12, 13 |
Lines Amount | 71 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 223 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 53 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:07 min read
- 42 Views
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"The Song of Tigilau" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/26343/the-song-of-tigilau>.
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