Analysis of The Heron
In the Kelvin Gorge
The river platters past, and sings
Its gentle, winding tale of centuries -
Long before we things of dust and shadow
Trailed blasphemous feet upon the blessed earth –
And, long after we are gone, of ages yet to come;
While on its banks, proclaiming to the breeze
Their wafted rustle of thanksgiving
To Him whose love and arm and prescient forge
Gave them, and us, our living,
Cascade the leaves of ancient willow-trees.
Sweet chatter of the choir
Of rails and thrushes, wagtails, on the slopes above,
Flushes lordly sky,
To make, in cheerful harmony
Their polyphonic psalm.
But stop! Look!
There on a rock, amid the stream, unstinting,
Grey-wing, still, so infinitely still,
In predatory silence,
Feigning sleep,
He will keep
His ruthless countenance
Sharp, glinting, fell,
Ever watchful, that beady eye
Ever ready standing, hungry, sentinel.
Scheme | AXBXXXBCACBXXDXX XCXEFFEXDX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 00101 01010101 1101011100 101111101 1100101011 0110111110111 1111010101 11010110 11110101001 11011010 010111011 1101010 11010110101 1011 11010100 1101 111 11010101010 111110001 010010 101 111 110100 1101 10101101 10101010100 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 838 |
Words | 143 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 16, 10 |
Lines Amount | 26 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 341 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 72 |
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Submitted on August 11, 2010
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 3 Views
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"The Heron" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/86915/the-heron>.
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