Analysis of Let the Light Enter
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper 1825 – 1911
"The dying words of Goethe."
"Light! more light! the shadows deepen,
And my life is ebbing low,
Throw the windows widely open:
Light! more light! before I go.
"Softly let the balmy sunshine
Play around my dying bed,
E'er the dimly lighted valley
I with lonely feet must tread.
"Light! more light! for Death is weaving
Shadows 'round my waning sight,
And I fain would gaze upon him
Through a stream of earthly light."
Not for greater gifts of genius;
Not for thoughts more grandly bright,
All the dying poet whispers
Is a prayer for light, more light.
Heeds he not the gathered laurels,
Fading slowly from his sight;
All the poet's aspirations
Centre in that prayer for light.
Gracious Saviour, when life's day-dreams
Melt and vanish from the sight,
May our dim and longing vision
Then be blessed with light, more light.
Scheme | X ABAB XCXC XDXD XDXD XDXD XDAD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 010111 1110110 0111101 10101010 1110111 1010101 1011101 100101010 1110111 11111110 111101 01111011 1011101 11101110 1111101 10101010 1011111 11101010 1010111 1010010 1001111 1011111 1010101 110101010 1111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 826 |
Words | 147 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 25 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 91 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 20 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 44 sec read
- 144 Views
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