Analysis of Nancy

Elinor Morton Wylie 1885 (Somerville, New Jersey) – 1928 (New York City, New York)



You are a rose, but set with sharpest spine;
You are a pretty bird that pecks at me;
You are a little squirrel on a tree,
Pelting me with the prickly fruit of the pine;
A diamond, torn from a crystal mine,
Not like that milky treasure of the sea,
A smooth, translucent pearl, but skilfully
Carven to cut, and faceted to shine.

If you are flame, it dances and burns blue;
If you are light, it pierces like a star
Intenser than a needlepoint of ice.
The dextrous touch that shaped the soul of you,
Mingled, to mix, and make you what you are,
Magic between the sugar and the spice.


Scheme ABBAABCA CDEXDE
Poetic Form
Metre 1101111101 1101011111 1101010101 10110101101 010110101 1111010101 01010111 111010011 1111110011 111111101 1101011 0101110111 1011011111 1001010001
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 585
Words 114
Sentences 4
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 6
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 223
Words per stanza (avg) 56
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

34 sec read
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Elinor Morton Wylie

Elinor Morton Wylie was an American poet and novelist popular in the 1920s and 1930s. "She was famous during her life almost as much for her ethereal beauty and personality as for her melodious, sensuous poetry." more…

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