Analysis of The Old Fool In The Wood

Alfred Noyes 1880 (Wolverhampton) – 1958 (Isle of Wight)



'If I could whisper you all I know,'
Said the Old Fool in the Wood,
'You'd never say that green leaves grow.
You'd say, 'Ah, what a happy mood
The Master must be in today,
To think such thoughts,'
That's what you'd say.'

'If I could whisper you all I've heard,'
Said the Old Fool in the fern,
'You'd never say the song of a bird.
You'd say, 'I'll listen, and p'raps I'll learn
One word of His joy as He passed this way,
One syllable more,'
That's what you'd say.'

'If I could tell you all the rest,'
Said the Old Fool under the skies,
'You'd hug your griefs against your breast
And whisper with love-lit eyes,
'I am one with the sorrow that made the may,
And the pulse of His heart,'
That's what you'd say.'


Scheme axaxbxB cdcdbxB efefbxB
Poetic Form
Metre 111101111 1011001 11011111 11110101 01011001 1111 1111 111101111 1011001 110101101 1111001111 1111111111 11001 1111 11111101 10111001 11110111 0101111 11110101101 001111 1111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 695
Words 149
Sentences 6
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 7, 7, 7
Lines Amount 21
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 171
Words per stanza (avg) 46
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 09, 2023

46 sec read
52

Alfred Noyes

Alfred Noyes was an English poet best known for his ballads The Highwayman 1906 and The Barrel Organ more…

All Alfred Noyes poems | Alfred Noyes Books

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