Analysis of The Coquette
Letitia Elizabeth Landon 1802 (Chelsea) – 1838 (Cape Coast)
She danced upon the waters,
Beneath the morning sun,
Of all old Ocean’s daughters
The very fairest one.
An azure zone comprest her
Round her white and slender side,
For her gallant crew had drest her
Like a beauty and a bride.
She wore her trappings gayly,
As a lady ought to do,
And the waves which kissed her daily
Proud of their mistress grew.
They clung like lovers round her,
And bathed her airy feet ;
With white foam wreaths they bound her,
To grace her, and to greet.
She cut the blue wave, scorning
Our dull and common land ;
To the rosy airs of morning,
We saw her sails expand.
How graceful was their drooping
Ere the winds began to blow,
While the gay Coquette was stooping
To her clear green glass below !
How gallant was their sweeping,
While they swelled upon the air ;
As the winds were in their keeping,
And they knew they were so fair !
A shower of spray before her,
A silvery wake hehind,
A cloud of canvass o’er her,
She sprang before the wind.
She was so loved, the fairy,
Like a mistress or a child ;
For she was so trim and airy,
So buoyant and so wild.
And though so young a rover,
She knew what life could be ;
For she had wandered over
Full many a distant sea.
One night, ’twas in September,
A mist arose on high ;
Not the oldest could remember
Such a dense and darkened sky :
And small dusk birds came hovering
The gloomy waters o’er ;
The waves mocked their sweet sovereign,
And would obey no more.
There was no wind to move them,
So the sails were furled and fast,
And the gallant flag above them
Dropped down upon the mast.
All was still as if death’s shallow
Were resting on the grave;
And the sea, like some dark meadow,
Had not one rippling wave :
When the sky was rent asunder
With a flood of crimson light,
And one single burst of thunder
Aroused the silent night.
’Twas the signal for their waking!
The angry winds arose,
Like giant captives breaking
The chain of forced repose.
Yet bravely did she greet them,
Those jarring winds and waves;
Ready with scorn to meet them,
They who had been her slaves.
She faced the angry heaven,
Our bold and fair Coquette ;
Her graceful sides are riven,
But she will brave it yet.
Like old oak of the forest,
Down comes the thundering mast
Her need is at the sorest,
She shudders in the blast
Hark to that low quick gushing
The hold has sprung a leak
On their prey the waves are rushing
The valiant one grows weak.
One cry, and all is quiet,
There is not sight nor sound;
Save the fierce gale at its riot,
And the angry waters round.
The morn may come with weeping,
And the storm may cease to blow;
But the fair Coquette is sleeping
A thousand fathoms low.
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFCGCG HIHIHEHE HJHJCDCX KLKLCKCK CXCHHCBX MNMNEOXO CPCPHQHQ MRMRBDBX XNDNHHHH STSTHEHE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101010 010101 1111010 010101 110110 1010101 10101110 1010001 110101 1010111 00111010 111101 1111010 010101 1111110 110011 110111 1010101 10101110 110101 1101110 1010111 1011110 1011101 1101110 1110101 10100110 0111011 01011010 010011 0111010 110101 1111010 1010101 11111010 110011 0111010 111111 1111010 1100101 1110010 010111 10101010 1010101 01111100 010101 0111110 010111 1111111 1010101 00101011 110101 11111110 010101 0011111 1111001 10111010 1011101 01101110 010101 10101110 010101 1101010 011101 1101111 110101 1011111 111101 1101010 101011 0101110 111111 1111010 1101001 011101 110001 1111110 011101 11101110 010111 1101110 111111 10111110 0010101 0111110 0011111 1011110 010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,820 |
Words | 495 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 88 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 186 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 46 |
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Submitted by Madeleine Quinn on November 14, 2016
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:28 min read
- 112 Views
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"The Coquette" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/45289/the-coquette>.
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