Analysis of A Salem Mother
They whisper at my very gate,
These clacking gossips every one,
"We saw them in the wood of late,
Her and the widow's son;
The horses at the forge may wait,
The wool may go unspun."
I spread the food he loves the best,
I light the lamp when day is done,
Yet still he stays another's guest--
Oh, my one son, my son.
I would it burned in mine own breast
The spell he may not shun.
She hath bewitched him with her eyes.
(No goodly maid hath eyes as bright.)
Pale in the morn I watch him rise,
As one who wanders far by night.
The gossips whisper and surmise--
I hide me from the light.
Her hair is yellow as the corn,
Her eyes are bluer than the sky;
Behind the casement yester-morn,
I watched her passing by.
My son not yet had broken bread,
Yet from the table did he rise,
She said no word nor turned her head,
What then the spell that bade him stir,
Nor heeding any word I said,
Put by my hands and follow her.
He was so strong and wise and good--
Was there no other she might take,
Nor other mothers' hearts to break?
What though she bade the harvest fail,
What though she willed the cattle die,
So my son's soul was spared thereby.
My cattle fill the pasture-land,
The ripe fruit thickens on the tree,
My son, my son is lost to me.
They burned a witch in our town,
On hangman's hill to-day;
And black the ashes drifted down,
Ashes black and grey,
Not white like those o' martyred folk
Whose souls are clean as they.
They burned a witch in our town,
Upon a windy hill,
For that she made the wells sink down
And wrought a young man ill,
The smoke rose black against the sky,
And hangs before it still.
They burned a witch in our town,
And sure they did but right,
And yet I would the rain could drown
That blackened hill from sight,
And some great wind might drive that cloud
'Twixt God and me this night.
Scheme | ababab cbcbcb dedede fgfghdhihi xjj xgg xkk Lmlmxm Lnlngn Lelexe |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011101 11101001 11100111 000101 01010111 01111 11011101 11011111 11110101 111111 11110111 011111 11011101 11011111 10011111 11110111 01010001 111101 01110101 01110101 010111 110101 11111101 11010111 11111101 11011111 11010111 11110100 11110101 11110111 11010111 11110101 11110101 11111111 11010101 01110101 11111111 11010101 11111 01010101 10101 11111101 111111 11010101 010101 11110111 010111 01110101 010111 11010101 011111 01110111 110111 01111111 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,807 |
Words | 379 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 10, 3, 3, 3, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 55 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 138 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
Font size:
Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on April 19, 2023
- 1:54 min read
- 13 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"A Salem Mother" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/56709/a-salem-mother>.
Discuss this Theodosia Garrison 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