Analysis of A Rhyme About an Electrical Advertising Sign

Vachel Lindsay 1879 (Springfield) – 1931 (Springfield)



I look on the specious electrical light
Blatant, mechanical, crawling and white,
Wickedly red or malignantly green
Like the beads of a young Senegambian queen.
Showing, while millions of souls hurry on,
The virtues of collars, from sunset till dawn,
By dart or by tumble of whirl within whirl,
Starting new fads for the shame-weary girl,
By maggotry motions in sickening line
Proclaiming a hat or a soup or a wine,
While there far above the steep cliffs of the street

The stars sing a message elusive and sweet.
Now man cannot rest in his pleasure and toil
His clumsy contraptions of coil upon coil
Till the thing he invents, in its use and its range,
Leads on to the marvelous CHANGE BEYOND CHANGE
Some day this old Broadway shall climb to the skies,
As a ribbon of cloud on a soul-wind shall rise.
And we shall be lifted, rejoicing by night,
Till we join with the planets who choir their delight.
The signs in the street and the signs in the skies
Shall make me a Zodiac, guiding and wise,
And Broadway make one with that marvelous stair
That is climbed by the rainbow-clad spirits of prayer.


Scheme AABBXXCCDDE EFFGGHHAAHHII
Poetic Form
Metre 11101001001 1001001001 1001111 10110111 1011011101 0101101111 11111011011 1011101101 111001001 01001101101 11101011101 01101001001 11101011001 11001011011 101101011011 11101001011 1111111101 101011101111 01111001011 1111010110101 01001001001 1110101001 0111111001 11110111011
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,101
Words 200
Sentences 6
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 11, 13
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 36
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 436
Words per stanza (avg) 99
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 09, 2023

1:00 min read
154

Vachel Lindsay

Nicholas Vachel Lindsay was an American poet. more…

All Vachel Lindsay poems | Vachel Lindsay Books

0 fans

Discuss this Vachel Lindsay poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "A Rhyme About an Electrical Advertising Sign" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/37256/a-rhyme-about-an-electrical-advertising-sign>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    June 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    19
    days
    6
    hours
    57
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Because I could not stop for _______ - He kindly stopped for me
    A Time
    B Death
    C Hope
    D Love