Analysis of Mirage
Is it a will-o'-the-wisp, or is dawn breaking,
That our horizon wears so strange a hue?
Is it but one more dream, or are we waking
To find that dreams, at last, are coming true?
Aye, surely, in that golden glimmer streaking
The cloudy sky-line of the life of man,
We see the blessed day he has been seeking
In all directions since the world began.
Sign to each struggling and exhausted nation
Of hope fulfilled, redemption and release;
Sign of the end of needless tribulation,
And the beginning of the reign of Peace.
Country with country, brother with his brother,
Content to share, and not to grab and steal;
Ceasing the wild-beast battle, each with other,
To work in concert for the common weal.
No class-strife more, neighbour with differing neighbour;
No waste or want, to breed the plague of crime;
No soul-debasing pomp and sordid labour,
No wars, no famines, in the coming time!
But swords of slaughter - valour and brains and money -
Turned into ploughshares for the lands redeemed,
To fill men's homes, as full as hives of honey,
With wealth unknown and happiness undreamed.
Great Art no more the plaything of the idle,
But nurse and minister to every need;
Nature no longer cowed with bit and bridle;
Conscience enfranchised and Religion freed.
All round our darksome isle the tide encroaches,
Distant and dim as yet, but spreading fast.
The reign of Love and Liberty approaches!
The heirs are coming to their own at last!
. . . . .
Hark! What was that? The vanquished devil howling,
With guns and bombs, for brother devil's blood?
The primal savage out again - befouling
All this fair promise with his primal mud?
Alas! So soon to see our lovely morning
Back in the hopeless night whence it arose,
And have no time to wait another dawning!
O Lord, how long - how long . . . . . . . .
Scheme | ABAB ACAC DEDE FGFG FHXH IJIJ KLKL XMXM ANAN AXAX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110110111110 11001011101 11111111110 1111111101 11001101010 0101110111 1101111110 0101010101 111100001010 1101010001 1101110010 0001010111 10110101110 1011011101 10011101110 1101010101 1111111001 1111110111 1101010101 1111000101 11110101010 1011010101 11111111110 1101010001 1111011010 11010011001 10110111010 100100101 11101101010 1001111101 01110100010 0111011111 1 11110101010 1101110101 010101011 1111011101 011111101010 1001011101 01111101010 111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,790 |
Words | 315 |
Sentences | 31 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 41 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 139 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:35 min read
- 29 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Mirage" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/80/mirage>.
Discuss this Ada Cambridge 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