Analysis of Where does the Winter go?
Ethel Turner 1870 (Doncaster) – 1958 (Mosman)
There goes the Winter, sulkily slinking
Somewhere behind the trees on the hill.
He caught a vision of sweet Spring prinking
In green before her mirror---the rill.
And he turned away
With his face quite grey,
And he went without ever a glance behind him
But I want to know
Which way does he go,
And does anyone ever try to find him?
Is he caught to the sky in a burst of thunder
And tucked away in the clouds to sleep?
Or does he go down to the sea, I wonder,
And fling himself out where the waves roll deep?
Is he washed ashore
After tossings sore,
And found by some fisherman, pale and dying?
On some lonely beach
Beyond human reach
Still and stark is poor Winter lying?
Or climbs he up, with his grey head drooping,
Yon purple mountain that hides the sun,
And stooping and rising, rising and stooping,
Digs a grave where never was one?
And then lies down
In his grey, pale gown
A prayer on his lips, and his hands together?
"What tears will they shed
Because I am dead?
They will dance on my grave all the bright Spring weather."
Oh! Winter, Winter, my tears are falling,
Are you glad of the tears of a little child?
Though Spring is abroad and calling, calling,
I cling to the edge of your cloak so wild.
And I kiss your hand
And I understand,
And I smooth your proor grey head, low-lying,
Ah! I cannot sing
Just yet with the Spring
While Winter, Winter, is pale and dying.
Scheme | ABABCCDEADFGFGHHAIIAAJAJKKFLLFAMAMNNAAAA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (35%) |
Metre | 1101011 10101101 110101111 010101001 01101 11111 011011001011 11111 11111 0110101111 111101001110 010100111 11111101110 0101110111 11101 1011 0111101010 11101 01101 101111010 1111111110 110101101 01001010010 10111011 0111 01111 01111011010 11111 01111 111111101110 1101011110 11110110101 1110101010 1110111111 01111 0101 0111111110 11101 11101 1101011010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,345 |
Words | 267 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 40 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,067 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 264 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:19 min read
- 73 Views
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"Where does the Winter go?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/12866/where-does-the-winter-go%3F>.
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