Analysis of After the Engagement
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
Well, Mabel, 'tis over and ended---
The ball I wrote was to be;
And oh! it was perfectly splendid---
If you could have been here to see.
I've a thousand things to write you
That I know you are wanting to hear,
And one, that is sure to delight you---
I am wearing Joe's diamond, my dear!
Yes, mamma is quite ecstatic
That I am engaged to Joe;
She thinks I am rather erratic,
And feared that I might say "no."
But, Mabel, I'm twenty-seven
(Though nobody dreams it, dear),
And a fortune like Joe's isn't given
To lay at one's feet each year.
You know my old fancy for Harry---
Or, at least, I am certain you guessed
That it took all my sense not to marry
And go with that fellow out west.
But that was my very first season---
And Harry was poor as could be,
And mamma's good practical reason
Took all the romance out of me.
She whisked me off over the ocean,
And had me presented at court,
And got me all out of the notion
That ranch life out west was my forte.
Of course I have never repented---
I'm not such a goose of a thing;
But after I had consented
To Joe---and he gave me the ring---
I felt such a queer sensation.
I seemed to go into a trance,
Away from the music's pulsation,
Away from the lights and the dance.
And the wind o'er the wild prairie
Seemed blowing strong and free,
And it seemed not Joe, but Harry
Who was standing there close to me.
And the funniest feverish feeling
Went up from my feet to my head,
With little chills after it stealing---
And my hands got as numb as the dead.
A moment, and then it was over:
The diamond blazed up in my eyes,
And I saw in the face of my lover
A questioning, strange surprise.
Maybe 'twas the scent of the flowers,
That heavy with fragrance bloomed near,
But I didn't feel natural for hours;
It was odd now, wasn't it, dear?
Write soon to your fortunate Clara
Who has carried the prize away,
And say you'll come on when I marry;
I think it will happen in May.
Scheme | ABABCXCD EFEFGDGD BHBHGBGB GXGIJKJK GLGLBBBB KMKMNONO PDPDXIBI |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110110010 0111111 011110010 11111111 10101111 111111011 011111011 111011011 11011010 1110111 111110010 0111111 11011010 11111 0010111010 1111111 111110110 111111011 1111111110 01111011 111110110 01011111 01110010 11001111 111110010 01101011 011111010 111111110 111110010 11101101 11011010 11011101 11101010 11110101 0110101 01101001 001100110 110101 01111110 11101111 0010010010 11111111 110110110 011111101 010011110 01011011 0110011110 0100101 101011010 11011011 11101100110 11111011 111110010 11100101 011111110 11111001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,917 |
Words | 379 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 206 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 54 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 30, 2023
- 1:57 min read
- 106 Views
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"After the Engagement" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10510/after-the-engagement>.
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