Analysis of My Heart and I
Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806 (Kelloe) – 1861 (Florence)
ENOUGH ! we're tired, my heart and I.
We sit beside the headstone thus,
And wish that name were carved for us.
The moss reprints more tenderly
The hard types of the mason's knife,
As heaven's sweet life renews earth's life
With which we're tired, my heart and I.
II.
You see we're tired, my heart and I.
We dealt with books, we trusted men,
And in our own blood drenched the pen,
As if such colours could not fly.
We walked too straight for fortune's end,
We loved too true to keep a friend ;
At last we're tired, my heart and I.
III.
How tired we feel, my heart and I !
We seem of no use in the world ;
Our fancies hang grey and uncurled
About men's eyes indifferently ;
Our voice which thrilled you so, will let
You sleep; our tears are only wet :
What do we here, my heart and I ?
IV.
So tired, so tired, my heart and I !
It was not thus in that old time
When Ralph sat with me 'neath the lime
To watch the sunset from the sky.
`Dear love, you're looking tired,' he said;
I, smiling at him, shook my head :
'Tis now we're tired, my heart and I.
V.
So tired, so tired, my heart and I !
Though now none takes me on his arm
To fold me close and kiss me warm
Till each quick breath end in a sigh
Of happy languor. Now, alone,
We lean upon this graveyard stone,
Uncheered, unkissed, my heart and I.
VI.
Tired out we are, my heart and I.
Suppose the world brought diadems
To tempt us, crusted with loose gems
Of powers and pleasures ? Let it try.
We scarcely care to look at even
A pretty child, or God's blue heaven,
We feel so tired, my heart and I.
VII.
Yet who complains ? My heart and I ?
In this abundant earth no doubt
Is little room for things worn out :
Disdain them, break them, throw them by
And if before the days grew rough
We once were loved, used, -- well enough,
I think, we've fared, my heart and I.
Scheme | abbcdda aaeeaffa aaxfcgga dAhhaiia cAxxajja aabxaxxa dakkalla |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (25%) |
Metre | 011101101 1101011 01110111 01011100 01110101 110110111 111101101 1 111101101 11111101 001011101 1111111 11111101 11111101 111101101 1 110111101 11111001 10101101 01111 101111111 111011101 11111101 1 1101101101 11110111 11111101 1101101 111101011 11011111 111101101 1 1101101101 11111111 11110111 11111001 1101101 1101111 111101 1 101111101 010111 11110111 110010111 110111110 010111110 111101101 1 11011101 01010111 11011111 01111111 01010111 11011101 11111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,834 |
Words | 361 |
Sentences | 30 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 55 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 193 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 53 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 27, 2023
- 1:52 min read
- 180 Views
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"My Heart and I" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10242/my-heart-and-i>.
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