Analysis of Against The Cold Pale Sky



Against the cold pale sky
The elm tree company rose high.
All the fine hues of day
That flowered so bold had died away.
Only chill blue, faint green,
And deepening dark blue were seen.

There swinging on a bough
That hung or floated broad and low.
The lamp of evening, bright
With more than planetary light,
Was beautiful and free--
A white bird swaying on the tree.

You watched and I watched,
Our eyes and hearts so surely matched.
We saw the white bird leap, leap
Shining in his journey steep
Through that vast cold sky.
Our hearts knew his unuttered cry--

A cry of free delight
Spreading over the clustering night.
Pole Hill grave and stark
Stared at the valley's tidal dark,
The Darent glimmered wan;
But that eager planet winging on,

And singing on, went high
Into the deeps and heights of sky.
And our thoughts rising too
Brightened the mortal darkness through
Trembled and danced and sang
Till the mute invisible heavens rang.


Scheme AABBCC XXDDEE XXFFAA DDGGHH AAIIJJ
Poetic Form Etheree  (23%)
Metre 010111 01110011 101111 110111101 101111 01001101 110101 11110101 011101 1111001 110001 01110101 11011 101011101 1101111 1001101 11111 1011111 011101 101001001 11101 11010101 0111 111010101 010111 01010111 0101101 10010101 100101 1010100101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 915
Words 171
Sentences 10
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 30
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 148
Words per stanza (avg) 33
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

51 sec read
2

John Frederick Freeman

John Frederick Freeman was an English poet and essayist, who gave up a successful career in insurance to write full-time. He was born in London, and started as an office boy aged 13. more…

All John Frederick Freeman poems | John Frederick Freeman Books

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    Which of these famous poems is written in villanelle form?
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    B Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
    C Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
    D Funeral Blues