Analysis of Over the Banisters
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
Over the banisters bends a face,
Daringly sweet and beguiling.
Somebody stands in careless grace,
And watches the picture, smiling.
The light burns dim in the hall below,
Nobody sees her standing,
Saying good-night again, soft and slow,
Half way up to the landing.
Nobody only the eyes of brown,
Tender and full of meaning,
That smile on the fairest face in town,
Over the banisters leaning.
Tired and sleepy, with drooping head,
I wonder why she lingers;
Now, when the good-nights all are said,
Why somebody holds her fingers.
He holds her fingers and draws her down,
Suddenly growing bolder,
Till the loose hair drops its masses brown,
Like a mantle over his shoulder.
Over the banisters soft hands, fair,
Brush his cheeks like a feather,
And bright brown tresses and dusky hair,
Meet and mingle together.
There's a question asked, there's a swift caress,
She has flown like a bird from the hallway,
But over the banisters drops a "yes,"
That shall brighten the world for him alway.
Scheme | ABAB CBCB DBDB EFEF DGDG HGHG IJIJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 1001101 110010 1010101 01001010 011100101 11010 101101101 1111010 1100111 1001110 111010101 100110 100101101 1101110 11011111 1101010 110100101 1001010 101111101 101010110 1001111 1111010 01110011 1010010 1010110101 111101101 11001101 111001111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 986 |
Words | 173 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 111 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 52 sec read
- 60 Views
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