Analysis of The Halcyon
William Shenstone 1714 (Halesowen) – 1763 (Halesowen)
Why o'er the verdant banks of Ouse
Does yonder Halcyon speed so fast?
'Tis all because she would not lose
Her favourite calm, that will not last.
The sun with azure paints the skies,
The stream reflects each flowery spray,
And, frugal of her time, she flies
To take her fill of love and play!
See her, when rugged Boreas blows,
Warm in some rocky cell remain;
To seek for pleasure, well she knows,
Would only then enhance the pain.
'Descend,' she cries, 'thou hated shower,
Deform my limpid waves to-day,
For I have chose a fairer hour
To take my fill of love and play!'
You, too, my Silvia, sure will own
Life's azure seasons swiftly roll,
And when our youth or health is flown,
To think of love, but shocks the soul.
Could Damon but deserve thy charms,
As thou art Damon's only theme;
He'd fly as quick to Celia's arms
As yonder Halcyon stems the stream.
Scheme | ABAB ACAC ADAD ECEC FGFG AHAH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 110010111 110100111 11011111 0111111 01110101 010111001 01010111 11011101 1011011 10110101 11110111 11010101 011111010 111111 111101010 11111101 111100111 11010101 011011111 11111101 11010111 11110101 1111111 110100101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 841 |
Words | 163 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 110 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 49 sec read
- 82 Views
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"The Halcyon" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41605/the-halcyon>.
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