Analysis of His Vigil
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
Close the book and dim the light,
I shall read no more to-night.
No--I am not sleepy, dear--
Do not go: sit by me here
In the darkness and the deep
Silence of the watch I keep.
Something in your presence so
Soothes me--as in long ago
I first felt your hand--as now--
In the darkness touch my brow;
I've no other wish than you
Thus should fold mine eyelids to,
Saying nought of sigh or tear--
Just as God were sitting here.
Scheme | AABCDDEEFFGGHC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1010101 1111111 1111101 1111111 0010001 1010111 1001101 1110101 1111111 0010111 1110111 111111 1011111 1110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 417 |
Words | 85 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 318 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 83 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 13, 2023
- 25 sec read
- 392 Views
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