Analysis of Railway Station

Boris Pasternak 1890 (Moscow) – 1960 (Peredelkino)



My dear railway station, my treasure
Of meetings and partings, my friend
In times of hard trials and pleasure,
Your favours have been without end.

My scarf would wrap up my whole being -
The train would pull up, with deep sighs,
The muzzles of brash harpies, leering,
Would puff wet white steam in our eyes.

I'd sit at your side for a moment -
A hug and a kiss, brief and rough.
Farewell then, my joy and my torment.
I'm going, conductor, I'm off!

And, shunting bad weather and sleepers,
The west would break open-I'd feel
It grab me with snowflakes to keep me
From falling down under the wheels.

A whistle dies down, echoed weakly,
Another flies from distant tracks.
A train comes past bare platforms sweeping -
A blizzard of many hunched backs.

And twilight is rearing to go,
And, lured by the smoke and the steam,
The wind and the field rush and now
I wish I could be one of them!


Scheme ABAB CDCD XXXX XXEX EFCF XXXX
Poetic Form Quatrain  (50%)
Metre 11110110 1100111 011110010 1111011 111111110 01111111 0101111 111110101 111111010 01001101 1111011 11001011 010110010 01111011 11111111 11011001 010111010 01011101 01111110 01011011 0111011 01101001 01001101 11111111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 891
Words 168
Sentences 10
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 114
Words per stanza (avg) 28
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

51 sec read
203

Boris Pasternak

Boris Leonidovich Pasternak was a Russian poet, novelist, and literary translator. more…

All Boris Pasternak poems | Boris Pasternak Books

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