Analysis of Street Cries
Sarojini Naidu 1879 (Hyderabad) – 1949 (Lucknow)
WHEN dawn's first cymbals beat upon the sky,
Rousing the world to labour's various cry,
To tend the flock, to bind the mellowing grain,
From ardent toil to forge a little gain,
And fasting men go forth on hurrying feet,
Buy bread, buy bread, rings down the eager street.
When the earth falters and the waters swoon
With the implacable radiance of noon,
And in dim shelters koïls hush their notes,
And the faint, thirsting blood in languid throats
Craves liquid succour from the cruel heat,
Buy fruit, buy fruit, steals down the panting street.
When twilight twinkling o'er the gay bazaars,
Unfurls a sudden canopy of stars,
When lutes are strung and fragrant torches lit
On white roof-terraces where lovers sit
Drinking together of life's poignant sweet,
Buy flowers, buy flowers, floats down the singing street.
Scheme | AABBCC DDEECC FFGGCC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111010101 1001111001 11011101001 1101110101 01011111001 1111110101 1011000101 10010010011 00110111111 001110101 110110101 1111110101 11100100101 101010011 1111010101 1111001101 1001011101 110110110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 820 |
Words | 139 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 18 |
Letters per line (avg) | 36 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 216 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 46 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 42 sec read
- 435 Views
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"Street Cries" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/34632/street-cries>.
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