Analysis of The Symbol

James Hebblethwaite 1857 (Preston) – 1921



Thus pass the glories of the world!   
He lies beneath the pall’s white folds:   
His sword is sheathed, his pennon furled,   
Him silence holds.   

The pilgrim staff, the cockle shell,
The crown, the sceptre of his pride,   
The simple flower from forest dell,   
Heap at his side.   

And add thereto the wild-heart lute   
The voice of love and twilight song;
Those passioned strings though he is mute   
Remember long.   

And move not thence his evening book,   
The sifted grains of calm and storm;   
And bow before that dust-strewn nook
And silent form.   

To-morrow hath no hope for him,   
No clasp of friend, no grip of foe:   
Remember, love, with eyes tear-dim,   
We too must go.


Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ
Poetic Form Traditional rhyme
Quatrain 
Metre 11010101 11010111 1111111 1101 01010101 01010111 010101101 1111 0110111 0111011 1111111 0101 01111101 01011101 01011111 0101 11011111 11111111 01011111 1111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 685
Words 117
Sentences 7
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 100
Words per stanza (avg) 23
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
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James Hebblethwaite

James Hebblethwaite was an English-born Australian poet, teacher and clergyman. more…

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