Analysis of Ballad
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
I KNOW my love is true,
And oh the day is fair.
The sky is dear and blue,
The flowers are rich of hue,
The air I breathe is rare,
I have no grief or care;
For my own love is true,
And oh the day is fair.
My love is false I find,
And oh the day is dark.
Blows sadly down the wind,
While sorrow holds my mind;
I do not hear the lark,
For quenched is life's dear spark,—
My love is false I find,
And oh the day is dark!
For love doth make the day
Or dark or doubly bright;
Her beams along the way
Dispel the gloom and gray.
She lives and all is bright,
She dies and life is night.
For love doth make the day,
Or dark or doubly bright.
Scheme | aBaabbaBCDccddCDEFeeffEF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111111 010111 011101 0101111 011111 111111 111111 010111 111111 010111 110101 110111 111101 111111 111111 010111 111101 111101 010101 010101 110111 110111 111101 111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 619 |
Words | 141 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 24 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 20 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 470 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 138 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 173 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Ballad" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28665/ballad>.
Discuss this Paul Laurence Dunbar 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