Analysis of Alaskan Balladry, No.1
Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)
The Northland reared his hoary head
And spied the Southland leagues away-
'Fairest of all fair brides,' he said,
'Be thou my bride, I pray!'
Whereat the Southland laughed and cried:
'I'll bide beside my native sea,
And I shall never be thy bride
Till thou com'st wooing me!'
The Northland's heart was a heart of ice,
A diamond glacier, mountain high-
Oh, love is sweet at any price,
As well know you and I!
So gayly the Northland took his heart
And cast it in the wailing sea-
'Go, thou, with all thy cunning art,
And woo my bride for me!'
For many a night and for many a day,
And over the leagues that rolled between,
The true-heart messenger sped away
To woo the Southland queen.
But the sea wailed loud, and the sea wailed long,
While ever the Northland cried in glee:
'Oh, thou shalt sing us our bridal song,
When comes my bride, O sea!'
At the foot of the Southland's golden throne
The heart of the Northland ever throbs-
For that true-heart speaks in the waves that moan,
The songs that it sings are sobs.
Ever the Southland spurns the cries
Of the messenger pleading the Northland's part;
The summer shines in the Southland's eyes-
The winter bides in her heart!
And ever unto that far-off place
Which love doth render a hallowed spot,
The Northland turneth his honest face
And wonders she cometh not.
The sea wails loud, and the sea wails long,
As the ages of waiting drift slowly by,
But the sea shall sing no bridal song-
As well know you and I!
Scheme | abab cdcd efeF gdgd bhbh idid jdjx kgkg lmlm ifiF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 0111101 0101101 10111111 111111 101101 11011101 01110111 1111101 01110111 01010101 11111101 111101 1101111 01100101 11111101 011111 11001011001 010011101 011100101 11011 1011100111 11001101 1111110101 111111 101101101 01101101 1111100111 0111111 1001101 1010010011 01010011 0101001 010101111 111100101 0111101 0101101 011100111 10101101101 101111101 111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,424 |
Words | 278 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 112 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:23 min read
- 112 Views
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"Alaskan Balladry, No.1" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/12892/alaskan-balladry%2C-no.1>.
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