Analysis of Why The Spring Is Late
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
To Miss Eva Russell.
The spring time is deaf to our pleading,
The meadows are brown as can be.
The hilltops are bleak and unlovely,
No thrush sits and sings on the tree.
I hear many practical people
Explain why the spring loiters so,
But, dear one, they all are mistaken:
The true reason I alone know.
The South-wind, Spring's hand-maiden, told me
Her mistress declared, o'er and o'er,
That, till you were here to give greeting,
She'd visit our prairies no more.
And all her vast household stand by her!
The thrush says he cannot come here
And sing the old songs that you loved so,
Unless you are lingering near.
The wild pinks that rival your blushes,
The violets blue as the sky,
Declare it no pleasure to blossom
Unseen by your beautiful eye.
Oh darling! I'm loath to upbraid you,
So come without further delay.
Each moment you linger, remember
You are keeping the spring time away.
Then come! we are waiting to welcome
The birds and the flowers, 'tis true;
But warmer than all is the welcome,
Fair girl, that is waiting for you.
Scheme | ABCACADXD CEBXEXDX XFGFHIEIGHGH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111010 0111111010 0111111 011101 11101101 111010010 0110111 111111010 01101011 011111011 0100110010 111011110 110101011 01011110 01111011 010111111 01111001 011110110 01001101 011110110 01111001 11011111 11011001 110110010 111001101 111110110 01001011 110111010 11111011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,012 |
Words | 190 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 8, 12 |
Lines Amount | 29 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 268 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 63 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 58 sec read
- 69 Views
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