Analysis of The Sea and the Skylark
Gerard Manley Hopkins 1844 (Stratford, London) – 1889 (Dublin)
On ear and ear two noises too old to end
Trench—right, the tide that ramps against the shore;
With a flood or a fall, low lull-off or all roar,
Frequenting there while moon shall wear and wend.
Left hand, off land, I hear the lark ascend,
His rash-fresh re-winded new-skeinèd score
In crisps of curl off wild winch whirl, and pour
And pelt music, till none ’s to spill nor spend.
How these two shame this shallow and frail town!
How ring right out our sordid turbid time,
Being pure! We, life’s pride and cared-for crown,
Have lost that cheer and charm of earth’s past prime:
Our make and making break, are breaking, down
To man’s last dust, drain fast towards man’s first slime.
Scheme | ABBA ABBA CDC DCD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011101111 1101110101 101101111111 1001111101 1111110101 1111101111 0111111101 01101111111 1111110011 1111101011 1011110111 1111011111 10101011101 11111101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 698 |
Words | 126 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 3, 3 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 37 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 131 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 31 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 22, 2023
- 37 sec read
- 112 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Sea and the Skylark" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15900/the-sea-and-the-skylark>.
Discuss this Gerard Manley Hopkins 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