Analysis of L. e. l.
'Whose heart was breaking for a little love.'
Downstairs I laugh, I sport and jest with all;
But in my solitary room above
I turn my face in silence to the wall;
My heart is breaking for a little love.
Though winter frosts are done,
And birds pair every one,
And leaves peep out, for springtide is begun.
I feel no spring, while spring is wellnigh blown,
I find no nest, while nests are in the grove:
Woe's me for mine own heart that dwells alone,
My heart that breaketh for a little love.
While golden in the sun
Rivulets rise and run,
While lilies bud, for springtide is begun.
All love, are loved, save only I; their hearts
Beat warm with love and joy, beat full thereof:
They cannot guess, who play the pleasant parts,
My heart is breaking for a little love.
While beehives wake and whirr,
And rabbit thins his fur,
In living spring that sets the world astir.
I deck myself with skills and jewelry,
I plume myself like any mated dove:
They praise my rustling show, and never see
My heart is breaking for a little love.
While sprouts green lavender
With rosemary and myrrh,
For in quick spring the sap is all astir.
Perhaps some saints in glory guess the truth,
Perhaps some angels read it as they move,
And cry one to another full of ruth,
'Her heart is breaking for a little love.'
Though other things have birth,
And leap and sing for mirth,
When springtime wakes and clothes and feeds the earth.
Yet saith a saint: 'Take patience for thy scathe;'
Yet saith an angel: 'Wait, for thou shalt prove
True best is last, true life is born of death,
O thou, heart-broken for a little love.
Then love shall fill they girth,
And love make fat thy dearth,
When new spring builds new heaven and clean new earth.'
Scheme | a babAccc dxdaccc eaeAfff faxAfff ghgaiii ghxaiii |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111010101 1111110111 101100101 1111010101 1111010101 110111 0111001 011111101 111111111 1111111001 1111111101 111110101 110001 1101 110111101 1111110111 111101111 1101110101 1111010101 11101 010111 010111011 111110100 111110101 1111010101 1111010101 111100 11001 101101111 0111010101 0111011111 0111010111 0111010101 110111 010111 111010101 1101110111 1111011111 1111111111 1111010101 111111 011111 11111100111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,677 |
Words | 324 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7 |
Lines Amount | 43 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 190 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 45 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 15, 2023
- 1:36 min read
- 172 Views
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"L. e. l." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/5844/l.-e.-l.>.
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