Analysis of At The Dock
They loiter round the Dock that holds yon Ship
Shuddering at the dark pool's defiled lip
From springing bows to foam-deriding stern;
They have left her, and await her call "Return!"
Like any human mistress she has cast
Careless her ancient lovers, till at last
Perforce she calls them, and perforce they come
Like any human lovers.... Ah, what home
Know these, save in the Ship, the Ship! She groans
Day and night with travail of their strenuous bones.
They know her for their mother, sister, spouse,
Heart of their passion, idol of their vows;
They ward her, and she is their sure defence
'Gainst the sad waters' leagued malevolence.
The Ship, the Ship: they are her slaves, and she
Their Liege, their Faith, their Fate, their History.
Lo! they have bought her buoyancy with their blood
And their ribs cling the keel that cleaves the flood.
Their watches in the night, their loneliness,
Their toil, hunger and thirst, their heart's distress,
Their hands, their feet, far eye and smitten head
Whereon the Sea's upgathered weight is shed;
With these the Ship, the Ship is laid and rigged,
Launched and steered out; with these her living grave is digged,
They lean close over her--and long, perhaps,
For the broad seas and the loud wind that claps
Boisterous hands on the Ship's course; and wait
Her call who calls them with the voice of Fate.
Scheme | AABBCCXXDDXXXDEEFFXXGGXC HHII |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101011111 100101111 1101110101 11100010101 1101010111 1001010111 0111100111 1101010111 1110010111 101101111001 1101110101 1111010111 1100111101 1011011 0101110101 1111111100 11110100111 0111011101 1100011100 1110011101 1111110101 1011111 1101011101 101111010111 1111000101 1011001111 1001101101 0111110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,319 |
Words | 236 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 24, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 38 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 526 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 117 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:11 min read
- 40 Views
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"At The Dock" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/55899/at-the-dock>.
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