Analysis of To My Sister,
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
WITH A COPY OF 'THE SUPERNATURALISM OF NEW ENGLAND.'
Dear Sister! while the wise and sage
Turn coldly from my playful page,
And count it strange that ripened age
Should stoop to boyhood's folly;
I know that thou wilt judge aright
Of all which makes the heart more light,
Or lends one star-gleam to the night
Of clouded Melancholy.
Away with weary cares and themes!
Swing wide the moonlit gate of dreams!
Leave free once more the land which teems
With wonders and romances
Where thou, with clear discerning eyes,
Shalt rightly read the truth which lies
Beneath the quaintly masking guise
Of wild and wizard fancies.
Lo! once again our feet we set
On still green wood-paths, twilight wet,
By lonely brooks, whose waters fret
The roots of spectral beeches;
Again the hearth-fire glimmers o'er
Home's whitewashed wall and painted floor,
And young eyes widening to the lore
Of faery-folks and witches.
Dear heart! the legend is not vain
Which lights that holy hearth again,
And calling back from care and pain,
And death's funereal sadness,
Draws round its old familiar blaze
The clustering groups of happier days,
And lends to sober manhood's gaze
A glimpse of childish gladness.
And, knowing how my life hath been
A weary work of tongue and pen,
A long, harsh strife with strong-willed men,
Thou wilt not chide my turning
To con, at times, an idle rhyme,
To pluck a flower from childhood's clime,
Or listen, at Life's noonday chime,
For the sweet bells of Morning!
Scheme | A BBBCADDC EEEXFFFX GGGEXHHX IJIXKKKE XJJLMMML |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101010010001110 11010101 11011101 01111101 111110 1111111 11110111 11111101 110100 01110101 1101111 11110111 1100010 11110101 11010111 01010101 1101010 110110111 1111111 11011101 01111 0101101010 1110101 011100101 111010 11010111 11110101 01011101 01110 11110101 0100111001 0111011 011101 01011111 01011101 01111111 1111110 11111101 11010111 1101111 1011110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,429 |
Words | 256 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 41 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 193 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 42 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:18 min read
- 58 Views
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"To My Sister," Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23258/to-my-sister%2C>.
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