Analysis of Swing high and swing low

Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)



Swing high and swing low
While the breezes they blow -
It's off for a sailor thy father would go;
And it's here in the harbor, in sight of the sea,
He hath left his wee babe with my song and with me:
"Swing high and swing low
While the breezes they blow!"

Swing high and swing low
While the breezes they blow -
It's oh for the waiting as weary days go!
And it's oh for the heartache that smiteth me when
I sing my song over and over again:
"Swing high and swing low
While the breezes they blow!"

"Swing high and swing low " -
The sea singeth so,
And it waileth anon in its ebb and its flow;
And a sleeper sleeps on to that song of the sea
Nor recketh he ever of mine or of me!
"Swing high and swing low
While the breezes they blow -
'T was off for a sailor thy father would go!"


Scheme AAabbAA AAaccAA AaabbAAa
Poetic Form
Metre 11011 101011 11101011011 011001001101 111111111011 11011 101011 11011 101011 11101011011 0111011111 11111001001 11011 101011 11011 0111 0111011011 001011111101 1111011111 11011 101011 111101011011
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 765
Words 168
Sentences 6
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 7, 7, 8
Lines Amount 22
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 196
Words per stanza (avg) 54
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

50 sec read
102

Eugene Field

Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. more…

All Eugene Field poems | Eugene Field Books

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