Analysis of Breathings Of Spring
Felicia Dorothea Hemans 1793 (Liverpool, Lancashire) – 1835 (Dublin, County Dublin)
Thou giv'st me flowers, thou giv'st me songs; bring back
The love that I have lost!
WHAT wak'st thou, Spring? sweet voices in the woods,
And reed-like echoes, that have long been mute;
Thou bringest back, to fill the solitudes,
The lark's clear pipe, the cuckoo's viewless flute,
Whose tone seems breathing mournfulness or glee,
Ev'n as our hearts may be.
And the leaves greet thee, Spring! the joyous leaves,
Whose tremblings gladden many a copse and glade,
Where each young spray a rosy flush receives,
When thy south-wind hath pierced the whispery shade,
And happy murmurs, running thro' the grass,
Tell that thy footsteps pass.
And the bright waters they too hear thy call,
Spring, the awakener! thou hast burst their sleep!
Amidst the hollows of the rocks their fall
Makes melody, and in the forests deep,
Where sudden sparkles and blue gleams betray
Their windings to the day.
And flowers the fairy-peopled world of flowers!
Thou from the dust hast set that glory free,
Colouring the cowslip with the sunny hours,
And pencilling the wood-anemone;
Silent they seem yet each to thoughtful eye
Glows with mute poesy.
But what awak'st thou in the heart, O Spring!
The human heart, with all its dreams and sighs?
Thou that giv'st back so many a buried thing,
Restorer of forgotten harmonies!
Fresh songs and scents break forth where'er thou art,
What wak'st thou in the heart?
Too much, oh! there too much! we know not well
Wherefore it should be thus, yet rous'd by thee,
What fond, strange yearnings, from the soul's deep cell,
Gush for the faces we no more may see!
How are we haunted, in thy wind's low tone,
By voices that are gone!
Looks of familiar love, that never more,
Never on earth, our aching eyes shall meet,
Past words of welcome to our household door,
And vanish'd smiles, and sounds of parted feet
Spring! midst the murmurs of thy flowering trees,
Why, why reviv'st thou these?
Vain longings for the dead! why come they back
With thy young birds, and leaves, and living blooms?
Oh! is it not, that from thine earthly track
Hope to thy world may look beyond the tombs?
Yes! gentle spring; no sorrow dims thine air,
Breath'd by our lov'd ones there!
Scheme | AX BCBCDD EFEFGG HIHIJJ KDKLXB MXMNOO PDPDLX QRQRNN ASASTT |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (22%) |
Metre | 11110111111 011111 1111110001 0111011111 1111101 011101011 11110111 11110111 0011110101 1110100101 1111010101 111111011 0101010101 11111 0011011111 10111111 0101010111 1100000101 1101001101 11101 010010101110 1101111101 1010101010 010110 1011111101 1111 111100111 0101111101 11111100101 0101010100 1101111011 111001 1111111111 111111111 1111010111 1101011111 1111001111 110111 1101011101 10111010111 1111011011 0101011101 11010111001 11111 1101011111 1111010101 1111111101 1111110101 1101110111 1110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,131 |
Words | 382 |
Sentences | 27 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 50 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 188 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 42 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 25, 2023
- 1:59 min read
- 109 Views
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"Breathings Of Spring" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13484/breathings-of-spring>.
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