Analysis of Seasons of the Heart
Denis Florence MacCarthy 1817 (Dublin) – 1882 (Blackrock, Dublin)
The different hues that deck the earth
All in our bosoms have their birth;
'Tis not in the blue or sunny skies,
'Tis in the heart the summer lies!
The earth is bright if that be glad,
Dark is the earth if that be sad:
And thus I feel each weary day-
'Tis winter all when thou'rt away!
In vain, upon her emerald car,
Comes Spring, 'the maiden from afar,'
And scatters o'er the woods and fields
The liberal gifts that nature yields;
In vain the buds begin to grow,
In vain the crocus gilds the snow;
I feel no joy though earth be gay-
'Tis winter all when thou'rt away!
And when the Autumn crowns the year,
And ripened hangs the golden ear,
And luscious fruits of ruddy hue
The bending boughs are glancing through,
When yellow leaves from sheltered nooks
Come forth and try the mountain brooks,
Even then I feel, as there I stray-
'Tis winter all when thou'rt away!
And when the winter comes at length,
With swaggering gait and giant strength,
And with his strong arms in a trice
Binds up the streams in chains of ice,
What need I sigh for pleasures gone,
The twilight eve, the rosy dawn?
My heart is changed as much as they-
'Tis winter all when thou'rt away!
Even now, when Summer lends the scene
Its brightest gold, its purest green,
Whene'er I climb the mountain's breast,
With softest moss and heath-flowers dress'd,
When now I hear the breeze that stirs
The golden bells that deck the furze,
Alas! unprized they pass away-
'Tis winter all when thou'rt away!
But when thou comest back once more,
Though dark clouds hang and loud winds roar,
And mists obscure the nearest hills,
And dark and turbid roll the rills,
Such pleasures then my breast shall know,
That summer's sun shall round me glow;
Then through the gloom shall gleam the May-
'Tis winter all when thou'rt away!
Scheme | aabbccdD eeffggdD xxhhiidD jjkklldD mmnnxbdD ooxbggdD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 010011101 10101111 110011101 10010101 01111111 11011111 01111101 11011101 01010101 11010101 01100101 010011101 01010111 01010101 11111111 11011101 01010101 01010101 01011101 01011101 11011101 11010101 101111111 11011101 01010111 110010101 01111001 11010111 11111101 0110101 11111111 11011101 101110101 11011101 1110101 110101101 11110111 01011101 0111101 11011101 1111111 11110111 01010101 0101101 11011111 11011111 11011101 11011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,737 |
Words | 329 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 230 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 54 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:41 min read
- 120 Views
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"Seasons of the Heart" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42812/seasons-of-the-heart>.
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