Analysis of The Ladder
Aleister Crowley 1875 (Leamington Spa) – 1947 (Hastings)
[Dedicated to K.M.Ward]
"I will arise and go unto my father"
Dark, dark all dark! I cower, I cringe.
Only ablove me is a citron tinge
As if some echo of red, gold and lue
Chimed on the night and let its shadow through.
Yet I who am thus prisoned and exiled
Am the right heir of glory, the crowned child.
I match my might against my Fate's
I gird myself to reach the ultimate shores,
I arm myself the war to win:-
Lift up your heads, O mighty gates!
Be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors!
The King of Glory shall come in.
I pass from the citrine:deep indigo
Is this tall column. Snakes and vultures bend
Their hooted hate on him that would ascend.
O may the Four avail me ! Ageless woe,
Fear, torture, throng the treshold. LO1 The end
Of Matter ! The immensity of things
Let loose -new laws, new beings, new conditions;-
Dire chaos; see ! these new-fledged wings
Fail in its vagueness and initiations.
Only my circle saves me from the hate
Of all these monsters dead yet animate.
I match, &c.
Hail, thou full moon, O flame of Amethyst !
Stupendous mountain on whose shoulders rest
The Eight Above. More stable is my crest
Than thine -and now I pierce thee, veil of mist!
Even as an arrow from the war-bow springs
I leap -my life is set with loftier things.
I match, & c.
SAMECH ( and the crossing of the Path of Pe)
Now swift, thou azure shaft of fading fire,
Pierce through the rainbow! Swift, O swift! how streams
The world by! Let Sandalphon and his quire
Of Angels ward me!
Ho! what
Scheme | A B CCDDAA EEFEEF GAAGAE EEEAA H AAAAEE H X BEXHA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 100011 11010110110 111111011 101110101 1111011101 110101111 111111001 1011110011 11110111 1111101001 1110111 11111101 111110101 01110110 1110110 1111010101 1101111101 1101011101 110101101 1100111 11111101010 11011111 1011001 1011011101 1111011100 111 1111111100 0101011101 0101110111 1101111111 10111010111 11111111001 111 1001010111 11110111010 110111111 01111011 11011 11 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,468 |
Words | 290 |
Sentences | 29 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 1, 6, 6, 6, 5, 1, 6, 1, 1, 5 |
Lines Amount | 39 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 103 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 26 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:27 min read
- 84 Views
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"The Ladder" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/398/the-ladder>.
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