Analysis of October

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



Beauty has a tarnished dress,
And a patchwork cloak of cloth
Dipped deep in mournfulness,
Striped like a moth.

Wet grass where it trails
Dyes it green along the hem;
She has seven silver veils
With cracked bells on them.

She is tired of all these--
Grey gauze, translucent lawn;
The broad cloak of Herakles.
Is tangled flame and fawn.

Water and light are wearing thin:
She has drawn above her head
The warm enormous lion skin
Rough red and gold.


Scheme ABAB CDCD XEAE FXFX
Poetic Form Quatrain  (75%)
Metre 1010101 001111 1101 1101 11111 1110101 1110101 11111 1110111 110101 01111 110101 10011101 1110101 01010101 1101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 450
Words 83
Sentences 6
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 88
Words per stanza (avg) 20
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

24 sec read
45

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…

All Elinor Morton Wylie poems | Elinor Morton Wylie Books

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