Analysis of The Watcher

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919



I think I hear the sound of horses' feet
Beating upon the graveled avenue.
Go to the window that looks on the street,
He would not let me die alone, I knew.'
Back to the couch the patient watcher passed,
And said: 'It is the wailing of the blast.'

She turned upon her couch and, seeming, slept,
The long, dark lashes shadowing her cheek;
And on and on the weary moments crept,
When suddenly the watcher heard her speak:
'I think I hear the sound of horses' hoofs-'
And answered, ''Tis the rain upon the roofs.'

Unbroken silence, quiet, deep, profound.
The restless sleeper turns: 'How dark, how late!
What is it that I hear-a trampling sound?
I think there is a horseman at the gate.'
The watcher turns away her eyes tear-blind:
'It is the shutter beating in the wind.'

The dread hours passed; the patient clock ticked on;
The weary watcher moved not from her place.
The gray dim shadows of the early dawn
Caught sudden glory from the sleeper's face.
'He comes! my love! I knew he would!' she cried;
And smiling sweetly in her slumbers, died.


Scheme ABABCC DEDEXX FGFGHH XIXIJJ
Poetic Form
Metre 1111011101 10010110 1101011101 1111110111 1101010101 0111010101 1101010101 0111010001 0101010101 1100010101 1111011101 0101010101 0101010101 0101011111 1111110101 1111010101 0101010111 1101010001 01101010111 0101011101 011110101 110101011 1111111111 010100011
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,027
Words 198
Sentences 16
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 199
Words per stanza (avg) 48
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

57 sec read
75

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet. more…

All Ella Wheeler Wilcox poems | Ella Wheeler Wilcox Books

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