Analysis of A First Confession

William Butler Yeats 1865 (Sandymount) – 1939 (Menton)



I admit the briar
Entangled in my hair
Did not injure me;
My blenching and trembling,
Nothing but dissembling,
Nothing but coquetry.

I long for truth, and yet
I cannot stay from that
My better self disowns,
For a man's attention
Brings such satisfaction
To the craving in my bones.

Brightness that I pull back
From the Zodiac,
Why those questioning eyes
That are fixed upon me?
What can they do but shun me
If empty night replies?


Scheme AXBCCA XXDEED FFDBBD
Poetic Form
Metre 101010 010011 11101 110100 101010 1011 111101 110111 11011 101010 11010 1010011 101111 1010 111001 111011 1111111 110101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 421
Words 80
Sentences 5
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 18
Letters per line (avg) 19
Words per line (avg) 4
Letters per stanza (avg) 114
Words per stanza (avg) 26
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 06, 2023

24 sec read
395

William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. more…

All William Butler Yeats poems | William Butler Yeats Books

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