Analysis of Early Affeection

George Moses Horton 1779 (North Carolina) – 1883



I loved thee from the earliest dawn,
When first I saw thy beauty's ray;
And will until life's eve comes on,
And beauty's blossom fades away;
And when all things go well with thee,
With smiles or tears remember me.

I'll love thee when thy morn is past
And wheedling galantry is o'er,
When youth is lost in age's blast,
And beauty can ascend no more;
And when life's journey ends with thee,
O then look back and think of me.

I'll love thee with a smile or frown,
Mid sorrow's gloom or pleasure's light;
And when the chain of life runs down,
Pursue thy last eternal flight;
When thou hast spread thy wing to flee,
Still, still a moment wait for me.

I love thee for those sparkling eyes,
To which my fondness was betray'd,
Bearing the tincture of the skies,
To glow when other beauties fade;
And when they sink too low to see,
Reflect an azure beam on me.


Scheme XAXABB CXCXBB DEDEBB FGFGBB
Poetic Form
Metre 111101001 1111111 01011111 0110101 01111111 11110101 11111111 011110 11110101 01010111 01110111 11110111 11110111 111111 01011111 01110101 11111111 11010111 11111101 11110101 10010101 11110101 01111111 01110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 859
Words 164
Sentences 5
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 164
Words per stanza (avg) 41
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

52 sec read
169

George Moses Horton

George Moses Horton was an African-American poet and the first African American poet to be published in the Southern United States. His book was published in 1828 while he was still a slave; he remained a slave until he was emancipated late in the Civil War. more…

All George Moses Horton poems | George Moses Horton Books

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