Analysis of Given And Taken
The snow-flakes were softly falling
Adown on the landscape white,
When the violet eyes of my first born
Opened unto the light;
And I thought as I pressed him to me,
With loving, rapturous thrill,
He was pure and fair as the snow-flakes
That lay on the landscape still.
I smiled when they spoke of the weary
Length of the winter’s night,
Of the days so short and so dreary,
Of the sun’s cold cheerless light—
I listened, but in their murmurs
Nor by word nor thought took part,
For the smiles of my gentle darling
Brought light to my home and heart.
Oh! quickly the joyous springtime
Came back to our ice-bound earth,
Filling meadows and woods with sunshine,
And hearts with gladsome mirth,
But, ah! on earth’s dawning beauty
There rested a gloomy shade,
For our tiny household blossom
Began to droop and fade.
And I, shuddering, felt that the frailest
Of the flowers in the old woods dim
Had a surer hold on existence
Than I dared to hope for him.
In the flush of the summer’s beauty
On a sunny, golden day,
When flowers gemmed dell and upland,
My darling passed away.
Now I chafed at the brilliant sunshine
That flooded my lonely room,
Now I wearied of bounteous Nature,
So full of life and bloom;
I regretted the wintry hours
With the snow-flakes falling fast,
And the little form of my nursling
With his arms around me cast.
They laid his tiny garment
In an attic chamber high,
His coral, his empty cradle,
That they might not meet my eye;
And his name was never uttered,
What e’er each heart might feel,
For they wished the wound in my bosom
Might have tune to close and heal.
It has done so thanks to that Power
That has been my earthly stay,
And should you talk of my darling,
I could listen now all day,
For I know that each passing minute
Brings me nearer life’s last shore,
And nearer that glorious Kingdom
Where we both shall meet once more!
Scheme | ABXBCDXD CBCBEFAF XGHGCIJI BKXKCLXL HMNMEOAO XPXPXQJQ NLALXRJR |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01101010 11011 1010011111 101001 011111111 1101001 111011011 111011 111111010 110101 101110110 101111 11010110 1111111 101111010 1111101 1100101 11110111 1010111 01111 11111010 1100101 11010110 011101 011001101 101000111 101011010 1111111 001101010 1010101 11011010 110101 11110101 1101101 11101110 111101 101001010 1011101 00101111 1110111 1111010 0110101 11011010 1111111 01111010 111111 111010110 1111101 111111110 1111101 01111110 1110111 111111010 1110111 010110010 1111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,823 |
Words | 346 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 208 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 49 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 20, 2023
- 1:43 min read
- 67 Views
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"Given And Taken" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/33025/given-and-taken>.
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