Analysis of Despondency
Anne Brontë 1820 (Thornton, West Yorkshire) – 1849 (Scarborough, North Yorkshire)
I have gone backward in the work,
The labour has not sped,
Drowsy and dark my spirit lies,
Heavy and dull as lead.
How can I rouse my sinking soul
From such a lethargy?
How can I break these iron chains,
And set my spirit free?
There have been times when I have mourned,
In anguish o'er the past;
And raised my suppliant hands on high,
While tears fell thick and fast,
And prayed to have my sins forgiven
With such a fervent zeal,
An earnest grief --- a strong desire
That now I cannot feel!
And vowed to trample on my sins,
And called on Heaven to aid
My spirit in her firm resolves
And hear the vows I made.
And I have felt so full of love,
So strong in spirit then,
As if my heart would never cool
Or wander back again.
And yet, alas! how many times
My feet have gone astray,
How oft have I forgot my God,
How greatly fallen away!
My sins increase, my love grows cold,
And Hope within me dies,
And Faith itself is wavering now,
O how shall I arise!
I cannot weep but I can pray,
Then let me not despair;
Lord Jesus, save me lest I die,
And hear a wretch's prayer.
Scheme | XABAXCXC XDED XFXF XGXG XHXH XIXI XBXB IJEJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110001 01111 10011101 100111 11111101 110100 11111101 011101 11111111 0101001 0111111 111101 011111010 110101 110101010 111101 01110111 0111011 11000101 010111 01111111 110101 11111101 110101 01011101 111101 11110111 1101001 11011111 010111 010111001 111101 11011111 111101 11011111 01011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,166 |
Words | 216 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 102 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:05 min read
- 68 Views
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"Despondency" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/3139/despondency>.
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