Analysis of Only Dreams
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
A maiden sat in teh sunset glow
Of the shadowy, beautiful Long Ago,
That we see through a mist of tears.
She sat and dreamed, with lips apart,
With thoughtful eyes and a beating heart,
Of the mystical future years;
And brighter far than the sunset skies
Was the vision seen by the maiden's eyes.
There were castles built of the summer air,
And beautiful voices were singing there,
In a soft and floating strain.
There were skies of azure and fields of green,
With never a cloud to come between,
And never a thought of pain;
There was the music, sweet as the silvery notes
That flow from a score of thrushes' throats.
There were hands to clasp with a loving hold;
There were lips to kiss, and eyes that told
More than the lips could say.
And all the faces she loved were there,
With their snowy brows untouched by care,
And locks that were never grey.
And Love was the melody each heart beat,
And the beautiful vision was all complete.
But the castles built of the summer wind
I have vainly sought. I only find
Shadows, all grim and cold; -
For I was the maiden who thought to see
Into the future years, - Ah, me!
And I am grey and old.
My dream of earth was as fair and bright
As my hope of heaven is to-night.
Dreams are but dreams at the very best,
And the friends I loved lay down to rest
With their faces hid away.
They had furrowed brows and snowy hair,
And they willing laid one day.
A shadow came over my vision scene
As the clouds of sorrow came in between.
The hands that I thought to clasp are crossed,
The lips and the beautiful eyes are lost,
And I seek them all in vain.
The gushes of melody, sweet and clear,
And the floating voices, I do not hear,
But only a sob of pain;
And the beating hearts have paused to rest.
Ah! dreams are but dreams at the very best.
Scheme | AAXBBXCC DDEFFEGG HHIDDIJJ KKHLLHMM NNIDIFF OOEXXENN |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01010111 10100100101 11110111 11011101 110100101 10100101 01011011 101011011 1010110101 0100100101 0010101 1011100111 110011101 0100111 110101101001 111011101 1011110101 101110111 110111 010101101 111010111 0110101 0110100111 00100101101 1010110101 111011101 11101 1110101111 01010111 011101 111111101 111110111 111110101 001111111 1110101 111010101 0110111 011101101 1011101001 011111111 0100100111 0111101 0101100101 0010101111 1100111 001011111 1111110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,769 |
Words | 347 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 7, 8 |
Lines Amount | 47 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 230 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 58 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:44 min read
- 92 Views
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"Only Dreams" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10741/only-dreams>.
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