Analysis of Maude Clare
Christina Georgina Rossetti 1830 (London) – 1894 (London)
Out of the church she followed them
With a lofty step and mien:
His bride was like a village maid,
Maude Clare was like a queen.
“Son Thomas, ” his lady mother said,
With smiles, almost with tears:
“May Nell and you but live as true
As we have done for years;
“Your father thirty years ago
Had just your tale to tell;
But he was not so pale as you,
Nor I so pale as Nell.”
My lord was pale with inward strife,
And Nell was pale with pride;
My lord gazed long on pale Maude Clare
Or ever he kissed the bride.
“Lo, I have brought my gift, my lord,
Have brought my gift, ” she said:
To bless the hearth, to bless the board,
To bless the marriage-bed.
“Here’s my half of the golden chain
You wore about your neck,
That day we waded ankle-deep
For lilies in the beck:
“Here’s my half of the faded leaves
We plucked from the budding bough,
With feet amongst the lily leaves, -
The lilies are budding now.”
He strove to match her scorn with scorn,
He faltered in his place:
“Lady, ” he said, - “Maude Clare, ” he said, -
“Maude Clare, ” – and hid his face.
She turn’d to Nell: “My Lady Nell,
I have a gift for you;
Though, were it fruit, the blooms were gone,
Or, were it flowers, the dew.
“Take my share of a fickle heart,
Mine of a paltry love:
Take it or leave it as you will,
I wash my hands thereof.”
“And what you leave, ” said Nell, “I’ll take,
And what you spurn, I’ll wear;
For he’s my lord for better and worse,
And him I love Maude Clare.
“Yea, though you’re taller by the head,
More wise and much more fair:
I’ll love him till he loves me best,
Me best of all Maude Clare.
Scheme | XAXA BXCX XDCD XEFE GBGB XHXH IJIJ XKBK DCXC XLXL XFXF BFXF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (92%) |
Metre | 11011101 1010101 11110101 111101 110110101 11111 11011111 111111 11010101 111111 11111111 111111 11111101 011111 11111111 1101101 11111111 111111 11011101 110101 11110101 110111 11110101 110001 11110101 1110101 11010101 0101101 11110111 110011 10111111 110111 11111101 110111 10110101 1011001 11110101 110101 11111111 11111 01111111 011111 111111001 011111 11110101 110111 11111111 111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,693 |
Words | 323 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 12 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 97 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 1:36 min read
- 110 Views
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"Maude Clare" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/5861/maude-clare>.
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