Analysis of By Her White Bed

James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)



By her white bed I muse a little space:
She fell asleep--not very long ago,--
And yet the grass was here and not the snow--
The leaf, the bud, the blossom, and--her face!--
Midsummer's heaven above us, and the grace
Of Lovers own day, from dawn to afterglow;
The fireflies' glimmering, and the sweet and low
Plaint of the whip-poor-wills, and every place
In thicker twilight for the roses' scent.
Then _night_.--She slept--in such tranquility,
I walk atiptoe still, nor _dare_ to weep,
Feeling, in all this hush, she rests content--
That though God stood to wake her for me, she
Would mutely plead: 'Nay, Lord! Let _him_ so sleep.'


Scheme ABBAABBACDECDE
Poetic Form
Metre 1011110101 1101110101 0101110101 0101010001 110011001 1101111110 01010000101 11011101001 010110101 1111010100 11111111 1001111110 1111110111 111111111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 626
Words 116
Sentences 6
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 476
Words per stanza (avg) 110
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

34 sec read
118

James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively. more…

All James Whitcomb Riley poems | James Whitcomb Riley Books

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