Analysis of Three In A Shade.

Robert Crawford 1959 (Bellshill)



Here we sit, and blind Desire
Plays his spinet in the shade.
How is it our fancies tire?
Why is it our hearts afraid,
Cower, as with trembling wing
'Neath the grey hawk Time that flies
Where the phantom colours cling
To the ever-fading skies?
Is it with all things but thus?
In our hearts when we were born
Young Desire laughed with us,
So, so old now and forlorn
As he sits, an eerie elf
In the wizard airs that stir,
With a man so like himself
And the ghost of what you were.


Scheme ABABCDCDEFEFGAGA
Poetic Form
Metre 11101010 111001 111101010 11110101 10111001 1011111 101011 1010101 1111111 01011101 1010111 1111001 1111101 0010111 1011101 0011110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 470
Words 97
Sentences 6
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 16
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 369
Words per stanza (avg) 95
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

29 sec read
343

Robert Crawford

Robert Crawford FRSE FBA is a Scottish poet, scholar and critic. He is currently Professor of English at the University of St Andrews.  more…

All Robert Crawford poems | Robert Crawford Books

0 fans

Discuss this Robert Crawford poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Three In A Shade." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/30802/three-in-a-shade.>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    More poems by

    Robert Crawford

    »

    June 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    27
    days
    10
    hours
    40
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "No Man Is An Island"?
    A Robert Browning
    B Ezra Pound
    C Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    D John Donne