Analysis of Lost
Alfred Austin 1835 (Leeds) – 1913 (Ashford)
Sweet lark! that, bedded in the tangled grass,
Protractest dewy slumbers, wake, arise!
The brightest moments of the morning pass-
Thou shouldst be up, and carolling in the skies.
Go up! go up! and melt into the blue,
And to heaven's veil on wings of song repair;
But, ere thou dost descend to earth, peep through,
And see if She be there.
Sweet stockdove! cooing in the flushing wood,
On one green bough brooding till morn hath died,
Oh, leave the perch where thou too long hast stood,
And with strong wings flutter the leaves aside!
Fly on, fly on, past feathery copse, nor stay
Till thou hast skimmed o'er all the woodlands fair!
And when thou hast, then speeding back thy way,
Tell me if She be there.
Sweet breeze! that, wearied with the heat of noon,
Upon a bank of daffodils didst die,
Oh, if thou lov'st me, quit thy perfumed swoon,
And, all refreshed, hither and thither hie.
Traverse the glades where browse the dappled deer,
Thrid the deep dells where none but thou mayst dare;
And then, sweet breeze, returning, to my ear
Whisper if She be there.
Sweet rivulet! running far too fast to stay,
Yet hear my plaint, e'en as thou rollest on!
I am alone-alone-both night and day,
For she I love was with me, and is gone.
Oh, shouldst thou find her on the golden beach
Whither thou speedest ocean's joys to share,
Remount thy course, despite what sophists teach,
And tell me She is there.
Not there! Nor there! Not in the far-off sky,
Close-keeping woods, or by the shining sea!
When lark, dove, breeze, and rivulet vainly try
To find my sweet-oh, where then may she be?
Hath she then left me-me she vowed so dear,
And she whose shadow dusks all other charms?
O foolish messengers! Look, look! She's here,
Enfolded in my arms!
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFGDGD HIHXJDKD GXGXLDLD IMIMJNKN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (23%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1111000101 1101101 0101010101 111101001 1111010101 01101111101 1111011111 011111 111000101 1111101111 1101111111 0111100101 11111100111 1111101011 0111110111 111111 1111010111 010111011 1111111011 010110011 100111011 1011111111 0111010111 101111 111011111 1111111111 1101011101 1111111011 1111010101 101110111 11101111 011111 1111100111 1101110101 111101101 1111111111 1111111111 011111101 1101001111 1011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,699 |
Words | 317 |
Sentences | 26 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 266 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 63 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 04, 2023
- 1:36 min read
- 83 Views
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"Lost" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/758/lost>.
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