Analysis of Sonnet 02

Henry Timrod 1828 (Charleston) – 1867 (Columbia)



Most men know love but as a part of life;
They hide it in some corner of the breast,
Even from themselves; and only when they rest
In the brief pauses of that daily strife,
Wherewith the world might else be not so rife,
They draw it forth (as one draws forth a toy
To soothe some ardent, kiss-exacting boy)
And hold it up to sister, child, or wife.
Ah me! why may not love and life be one?
Why walk we thus alone, when by our side,
Love, like a visible God, might be our guide?
How would the marts grow noble! and the street,
Worn like a dungeon-floor by weary feet,
Seem then a golden court-way of the Sun!


Scheme ABBAACCADEEFFD
Poetic Form
Metre 1111110111 1110110101 10101010111 0011011101 101111111 1111111101 1111010101 0111110111 1111110111 11110111101 110100111101 1101110001 1101011101 1101011101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 602
Words 123
Sentences 7
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 462
Words per stanza (avg) 121
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

36 sec read
86

Henry Timrod

Henry Timrod was an American poet, often called the poet laureate of the Confederacy. more…

All Henry Timrod poems | Henry Timrod Books

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