Analysis of An Old Man To His Sleeping Young Bride
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
As when the old moon lighted by the tender
And radiant crescent of the new is seen,
And for a moment's space suggests the splendor
Of what in its full prime it once has been,
So on my waning years you cast the glory
Of youth and pleasure, for a little hour;
And life again seems like an unread story,
And joy and hope both stir me with their power.
Can blooming June be fond of bleak December?
I dare not wait to hear my heart reply.
I will forget the question-and remember
Alone the priceless feast spread for mine eye,
That radiant hair that flows across the pillows,
Like shimmering sunbeams over drifts of snow;
Those heaving breasts, like undulating billows,
Whose dangers or delights but Love can know,
That crimson mouth from which sly Cupid borrowed
The pattern for his bow, nor asked consent;
That smooth, unruffled brow which has not sorrowed-
All these are mine; should I not be content?
Yet are these treasures mine, or only lent me?
And, who shall claim them when I pass away?
Oh, jealous Fate, to torture and torment me
With thoughts like these in my too fleeting day!
For while I gained the prize which all were seeking,
And won you with the ardor of my quest,
The bitter truth I know without your speaking-
You only let me love you at the best.
E'en while I lean and count my riches over,
And view with gloating eyes your priceless charms,
I know somewhere there dwells the unnamed lover
Who yet shall clasp you, willing, in his arms.
And while my hands stray through your clustering tresses,
And while my lips are pressed upon your own,
This unseen lover waits for such caresses
As my poor hungering clay has never known,
And when some day, between you and your duty
A green grave lies, his love shall make you glad,
And you shall crown him with your splendid beauty-
Ah, God! ah, God! 'tis this way men go mad!
Scheme | AXAXBABA ACACDEDE FGFGBHBH IJIJAKAK LMLMBNBN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11011101010 01001010111 01010101010 1101111111 11110111010 11010101010 01011110110 01011111110 11011111010 1111111101 11010100010 0101011111 110011101010 1100110111 1101110010 1101011111 1101111101 0101111101 1101011111 1111111110 11110111011 0111111101 1101110011 1111011101 11110111010 0111010111 01011101110 1101111101 111110111010 0111011101 1111100110 1111110011 011111110010 0111110111 10110111010 11110011101 01110110110 0111111111 01111111010 1111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,821 |
Words | 341 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 36 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 288 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 68 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:43 min read
- 89 Views
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"An Old Man To His Sleeping Young Bride" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10521/an-old-man-to-his-sleeping-young-bride>.
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