Analysis of A Waltz-Quadrille
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
The band was playing a waltz-quadrille,
I felt as light as a wind-blown feather,
As we floated away, at the caller’s will,
Through the intricate, mazy dance together.
Like mimic armies our lines were meeting,
Slowly advancing, and then retreating,
All decked in their bright array;
And back and forth to the music’s rhyme
We moved together, and all the time
I knew you were going away.
The fold of your strong arm sent a thrill
From heart to brain as we gently glided
Like leaves on the wave of that waltz-quadrille;
Parted, met, and again divided –
You drifting one way, and I another,
Then suddenly turning and facing each other,
Then off in the blithe chasse.
Then airily back to our places swaying,
While every beat of the music seemed saying
That you were going away.
I said to my heart, ‘Let us take our fill
Of mirth, and music, and love, and laughter;
For it all must end with this waltz-quadrille,
And life will never be the same life after.
Oh that the caller might go on calling!
Oh that the music might go on falling
Like a shower of silver spray,
While we whirled on to the vast Forever,
Where no hearts break, and no ties sever,
And no one goes away!
A clamour, a crash, and the band was still,
‘Twas the end of the dream, and the end of the measure:
The last low notes of that waltz-quadrille
Seemed like a dirge o’er the death of Pleasure.
You said good-night, and the spell was over –
Too warm for a friend, and too cold for a lover –
There was nothing else to say;
But the lights looked dim, and the dancers weary,
And the music was sad and the hall was dreary,
After you went away.
Scheme | ABABCCDEED AXAXBBXCCD ABABCCDBBD ABABBBDFFD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (23%) |
Metre | 01110011 1111101110 11100110101 1010011010 11010101010 1001001010 1101101 010110101 110100101 11101001 011111101 1111111010 111011111 101001010 1101101010 110010010110 110011 1111101010 110011010110 1101001 11111111101 1101001010 111111111 01110101110 1101011110 1101011110 10101101 1111101010 111101110 011101 010100111 1011010011010 01111111 1101101110 1111001110 111010111010 1110111 10111001010 001011001110 101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,623 |
Words | 305 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 10, 10, 10 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 309 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 76 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 1:31 min read
- 138 Views
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"A Waltz-Quadrille" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10503/a-waltz-quadrille>.
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