Analysis of A Memory
Barcroft Henry Thomas Boake 1866 – 1892
Adown the grass-grown paths we strayed,
The evening cowslips ope’d
Their yellow eyes to look at her,
The love-sick lilies moped
With envy that she rather chose
To take a creamy-petalled rose
And lean it 'gainst her ebon hair,
All in that garden fair.
A languid breeze, with stolen scent
Of box-bloom in his grasp,
Sighed out his longing in her ear,
And with his dying gasp
Scattered the perfume at her feet
To blend with others not less sweet;
He loved her, but she did not care,
All in that garden fair.
The rose she honoured nodded down,
His comrades burst with spite:
Poor fool! he knew not he was doomed
To barely last the night;
Are hearts to her but as that flower,
The plaything of a careless hour,
To lacerate and never spare
All in that garden fair.
I held her hand that I might trace
Her fortune in its palm;
A bolder moonbeam than the rest
Crept up and kissed her arm,
And, kissing once, was loth to leave,
So hid himself within the sleeve
That clasped the lithe arm, white and bare,
All in that garden fair.
I traced her fortune: love and wealth,-
Tho’ life, alas! was short,
But will that wealth be bought with love?
Or love with wealth be bought?
I know not, knowing only this -
Her hand seemed waiting for a kiss,
I longed to, but I did not dare
All in that garden fair.
But she, alas! is not for me,
And I am not for her;
Yet ever deep within my thoughts
A faint regret must stir
A thrill of longing - that among
Those moonlit paths with lover's tongue
I might return, and woo her there
All in that garden fair.
Scheme | aabxccdD xexeffdD xgxgbbdD xxxxhhdD xxxxiidD xbxbjjdD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011111 01011 11011110 011101 11011101 1101011 0111011 101101 01011101 111011 11110001 011101 10001101 11110111 11011111 101101 0111101 11111 11111111 110101 111011110 01101010 1100101 101101 11011111 010011 0101101 110101 01011111 11010101 11011101 101101 11010101 110111 11111111 111111 11110101 01110101 11111111 101101 11011111 011110 11010111 010111 01110101 1111101 11010101 101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,743 |
Words | 297 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 197 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 49 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:29 min read
- 98 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"A Memory" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/4169/a-memory>.
Discuss this Barcroft Henry Thomas Boake 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