Analysis of Thistle-down
Emily Pauline Johnson 1861 – 1913
Beyond a ridge of pine with russet tips
The west lifts to the sun her longing lips,
Her blushes stain with gold and garnet dye
The shore, the river and the wide far sky;
Like floods of wine the waters filter through
The reeds that brush our indolent canoe.
I beach the bow where sands in shadows lie;
You hold my hand a space, then speak good-bye.
Upwinds your pathway through the yellow plumes
Of goldenrod, profuse in August blooms,
And o'er its tossing sprays you toss a kiss;
A moment more, and I see only this--
The idle paddle you so lately held,
The empty bow your pliant wrist propelled,
Some thistles purpling into violet,
Their blossoms with a thousand thorns afret,
And like a cobweb, shadowy and grey,
Far floats their down--far drifts my dream away.
Scheme | AA BB CC BB DD EE FF XF GG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101111101 0111010101 0101110101 0101000111 1111010101 01111010001 110111011 1111011111 11110101 110010101 01011011101 0101011101 0101011101 0101110101 110101100 110101011 010110001 1111111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 770 |
Words | 140 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
Lines Amount | 18 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 67 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 15 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 52 Views
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"Thistle-down" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/12644/thistle-down>.
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