Analysis of Smoke-Rings
Robert Graves 1895 (Wimbledon) – 1985 (Deià)
Most venerable and learned sir,
Tall and true Philosopher,
These rings of smoke you blow all day
With such deep thought, what sense have they?
Small friend, with prayer and meditation
I make an image of Creation.
And if your mind is working nimble
Straightway you’ll recognize a symbol
Of the endless and eternal ring
Of God, who girdles everything—
God, who in His own form and plan
Moulds the fugitive life of man.
These vaporous toys you watch me make,
That shoot ahead, pause, turn and break—
Some glide far out like sailing ships,
Some weak ones fail me at my lips.
He who ringed His awe in smoke,
When He led forth His captive folk,
In like manner, East, West, North, and South,
Blows us ring-wise from His mouth.
Scheme | AABB CCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (25%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11000011 1010100 11111111 11111111 11110010 111101010 011111010 1110010 101000101 111110 11011101 10100111 1111111 11011101 11111101 11111111 1111101 11111101 011011101 1111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 748 |
Words | 135 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 16 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 282 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 66 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 24, 2023
- 40 sec read
- 36 Views
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"Smoke-Rings" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/31163/smoke-rings>.
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