Analysis of To Elizabeth Ward Perkins
Amy Lowell 1874 (Brookline) – 1925 (Brookline)
Dear Bessie, would my tired rhyme
Had force to rise from apathy,
And shaking off its lethargy
Ring word-tones like a Christmas chime.
But in my soul's high belfry, chill
The bitter wind of doubt has blown,
The summer swallows all have flown,
The bells are frost-bound, mute and still.
Upon the crumbling boards the snow
Has drifted deep, the clappers hang
Prismed with icicles, their clang
Unheard since ages long ago.
The rope I pull is stiff and cold,
My straining ears detect no sound
Except a sigh, as round and round
The wind rocks through the timbers old.
Below, I know the church is bright
With haloed tapers, warm with prayer;
But here I only feel the air
Of icy centuries of night.
Beneath my feet the snow is lit
And gemmed with colours, red, and blue,
Topaz, and green, where light falls through
The saints that in the windows sit.
Here darkness seems a spectred thing,
Voiceless and haunting, while the stars
Mock with a light of long dead years
The ache of present suffering.
Silent and winter-killed I stand,
No carol hymns my debt to you;
But take this frozen thought in lieu,
And thaw its music in your hand.
Scheme | ABBA CDDC EFFE GHHG IJJI KLLK MXXM NLLN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (88%) |
Metre | 11011101 11111100 01011100 11110101 10111101 01011111 01010111 01111101 010100101 1101011 1110011 01110101 01111101 11010111 01011101 01110101 01110111 1110111 11110101 11010011 01110111 0111101 1011111 01100101 1101011 10010101 11011111 01110100 10010111 11011111 11110101 01110011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,132 |
Words | 206 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 111 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 26 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:02 min read
- 41 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"To Elizabeth Ward Perkins" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2353/to-elizabeth-ward-perkins>.
Discuss this Amy Lowell poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In