Analysis of Alaskan Balladry
Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)
Krinken was a little child,-
It was summer when he smiled.
Oft the hoary sea and grim
Stretched its white arms out to him,
Calling, 'Sun-child, come to me;
Let me warm my heart with thee!'
But the child heard not the sea,
Calling, yearning evermore
For the summer on the shore.
Krinken on the beach one day
Saw a maiden Nis at play;
On the pebbly beach she played
In the summer Krinken made.
Fair, and very fair, was she,
Just a little child was he.
'Krinken,' said the maiden Nis,
'Let me have a little kiss,
Just a kiss, and go with me
To the summer-lands that be
Down within the silver sea.'
Krinken was a little child-
By the maiden Nis beguiled,
Hand in hand with her went he,
And 'twas summer in the sea.
And the hoary sea and grim
To its bosom folded him-
Clasped and kissed the little form,
And the ocean's heart was warm.
Now the sea calls out no more;
It is winter on the shore,-
Winter where that little child
Made sweet summer when he smiled;
Though 'tis summer on the sea
Where with maiden Nis went he,-
Summer, summer evermore,-
It is winter on the shore,
Winter, winter evermore.
Of the summer on the deep
Come sweet visions in my sleep:
His
fair face lifts from the sea,
His
dear voice calls out to me,-
These my dreams of summer be.
Krinken was a little child,
By the maiden Nis beguiled;
Oft the hoary sea and grim
Reached its longing arms to him,
Crying, 'Sun-child, come to me;
Let me warm my heart with thee!'
But the sea calls out no more;
It is winter on the shore,-
Winter, cold and dark and wild;
Krinken was a little child,-
It was summer when he smiled;
Down he went into the sea,
And the winter bides with me.
Just a little child was he.
Scheme | AABbcCcdd eeffcCggccc AAccbbhh dDaaccdDdii Gc Gcc AABbcCdDaAAccC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110101 1110111 1010101 1111111 1011111 1111111 1011101 101010 1010101 110111 1010111 101111 001011 1010111 1010111 110101 1110101 1010111 1010111 1010101 110101 1010101 1011011 0110001 0010101 1110101 1010101 0010111 1011111 1110101 1011101 1110111 1110101 1110111 101010 1110101 101010 1010101 1110011 1 111101 1 111111 1111101 110101 1010101 1010101 1110111 1011111 1111111 1011111 1110101 1010101 110101 1110111 1110101 0010111 1010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,616 |
Words | 336 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 11, 8, 11, 2, 3, 14 |
Lines Amount | 58 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 181 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 46 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:40 min read
- 126 Views
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"Alaskan Balladry" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/12891/alaskan-balladry>.
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