Analysis of A Dream
William Allingham 1824 (Ballyshannon) – 1889 (Hampstead)
I heard the dogs howl in the moonlight night;
I went to the window to see the sight;
All the Dead that ever I knew
Going one by one and two by two.
On they pass'd, and on they pass'd;
Townsfellows all, from first to last;
Born in the moonlight of the lane,
Quench'd in the heavy shadow again.
Schoolmates, marching as when they play'd
At soldiers once - but now more staid;
Those were the strangest sight to me
Who were drown'd, I knew, in the awful sea.
Straight and handsome folk, bent and weak, too;
Some that I loved, and gasp'd to speak to;
Some but a day in their churchyard bed;
Some that I had not known were dead.
A long, long crowd - where each seem'd lonely,
Yet of them all there was one, one only,
Raised a head or look'd my way;
She linger'd a moment - she might not stay.
How long since I saw that fair pale face!
Ah! Mother dear! might I only place
My head on thy breast, a moment to rest,
While thy hand on my tearful cheek were prest!
On, on, a moving bridge they made
Across the moon-stream, from shade to shade,
Young and old, women and men;
Many long-forgot, but remembered then,
And first there came a bitter laughter;
A sound of tears a moment after;
And then a music so lofty and gay,
That eve morning, day by day,
I strive to recall it if I may.
Scheme | AABB CCXD EEFF BBGG FFHH IIJJ EEDD KKHHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110110011 1110101101 10111011 101110111 1110111 111111 1001101 10010101 1101111 11011111 10010111 1011100101 101011011 111101111 11010111 11111101 011111110 1111111110 1011111 1100101111 111111111 110111101 1111101011 1111110101 11010111 010111111 1011001 1010110101 011101010 011101010 0101011001 1110111 11111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,274 |
Words | 253 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5 |
Lines Amount | 33 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 120 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 31 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:18 min read
- 114 Views
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"A Dream" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/38990/a-dream>.
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