Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
The Cloud
Form and Meter
The poem consists of 6 stanzas of varying length, written in anapestic meter.
Metaphors and Similes
Metaphors:
l. 15: "And all the night 'tis my pillow white"
In this line, the cloud compares the snow-covered mountaintops to a pillow. This emphasizes the cloud’s own impressive height and posture, as mountain tops appear small and soft in comparison.
l. 17: "[...] on the towers of my skiey bowers"
In this line, the cloud describes the storm as its home, as an alcove in the sky, again emphasizing its height and oversight over the world, as well as the fact that the cloud welcomes its life cycle and does not fear it (as the storm cloud is a lofty bower to comfortably sleep in, not a prison).
l. 31: "[...] with his meteor eyes"
The sunrise's eyes are compared to meteors, which emphasizes their glowing red color and portrays the sunrise as dangerous and fiery.
l. 67: "The triumphal arch through which I march"
In this line, mountains are compared to the columns of a great arch that the cloud passes through, further emphasizing its majestic appearance and power over nature.
Similes:
l. 44: "As still as a brooding dove."
This line is the first instance of the cloud referring to itself as female. The brooding also refers to the storm that is currently building inside the cloud.
l. 54: "Like a swarm of golden bees"
The cloud compares the stars accompanying the moon to bees. While the moon is described as calm and majestic, the many stars around her are moving, anxious and small in comparison to her.
l. 83: "Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb"
This line appears very close towards the end of the poem, when the storm has passed and the cloud is both at the end and beginning of its life. It cannot die, but is reborn instead, an act that is portrayed in this line, where the cloud constructs a parallel between death (the tomb) and life (the womb).
Alliteration and Assonance
Alliterations:
l. 3: "the leaves when laid"
l. 7: "rocked to rest"
l. 23: "Lured by the love"
l. 31: "sanguine Sunrise"
l. 47: "Glides glimmering" + "fleece-like floor"
Irony
Genre
Lyric, Romantic poetry
Setting
The poem is set in nature. The cloud passes a great distance, going over oceans, mountains and plains. The poem begins in the morning and covers the span of two days.
Tone
The tone of poem shifts from calm and light in the beginning to impactful and dangerous during its climax.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is the cloud. While there is no specific antagonist, the poem hints at the cloud's necessary domination over the sun and the moon to achieve its final size.
Major Conflict
There is no major conflict in the poem.
Climax
The poem's climax occurs in the fifth stanza. The cloud has finally reached its ultimate form, a storm that equals a hurricane, and has achieved supreme power over nature, supplanting sun and moon.
Foreshadowing
l. 44: "As still as a brooding dove"
The cloud compares itself to a brooding dove, which foreshadows that something is developing inside the cloud (which later turns out to be the fierce storm).
Understatement
Allusions
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Metonomy:
l. 59: "I bind the Sun's throne"
The throne refers to the sun's power and authority.
Synecdoche:
l. 6: "The sweet buds"
The sweet flowers
l. 21: "Over earth and ocean"
Over the entire world
Personification
There are multiple instances of personification in the poem, as all characters are personified parts of nature.
Hyperbole
l. 50: "Which only the angels hear"
Exaggeration to emphasize the moon's celestial position.
Onomatopoeia
l. 1: "showers"
The first sound imitates the sound of rushing water.
