Analysis of A Year's Spinning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806 (Kelloe) – 1861 (Florence)
1
He listened at the porch that day,
To hear the wheel go on, and on;
And then it stopped, ran back away,
While through the door he brought the sun:
But now my spinning is all done.
2
He sat beside me, with an oath
That love ne'er ended, once begun;
I smiled--believing for us both,
What was the truth for only one:
And now my spinning is all done.
3
My mother cursed me that I heard
A young man's wooing as I spun:
Thanks, cruel mother, for that word--
For I have, since, a harder known!
And now my spinning is all done.
4
I thought--O God!--my first-born's cry
Both voices to mine ear would drown:
I listened in mine agony--
It was the silence made me groan!
And now my spinning is all done.
5
Bury me 'twixt my mother's grave,
(Who cursed me on her death-bed lone)
And my dead baby's (God it save!)
Who, not to bless me, would not moan.
And now my spinning is all done.
6
A stone upon my heart and head,
But no name written on the stone!
Sweet neighbours, whisper low instead,
"This sinner was a loving one--
And now her spinning is all done."
7
And let the door ajar remain,
In case he should pass by anon;
And leave the wheel out very plain,--
That HE, when passing in the sun,
May see the spinning is all done.
Scheme | abcbdd aededD afdfgD axxxgD ahghgD aigidd ajcjdd |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1 11010111 11011101 01111101 11011101 11110111 1 11011111 11110101 11010111 11011101 01110111 1 11011111 01110111 11010111 11110101 01110111 1 11111111 11011111 11001100 11010111 01110111 1 10111101 11110111 01110111 11111111 01110111 1 01011101 11110101 1110101 11010101 01010111 1 01010101 0111111 01011101 11110001 11010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,408 |
Words | 248 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 42 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 129 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 09, 2023
- 1:15 min read
- 197 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"A Year's Spinning" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10215/a-year%27s-spinning>.
Discuss this Elizabeth Barrett Browning 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