Analysis of My Bonnet Of Blue



My bonnet of blue, my bonnet of blue,
Its gossamer fineness I'll sing to you;
For a delicate fabric in sooth it was,
All trimmed and finified off with gauze.
My bonnet of blue, my bonnet of blue,
How well I remember thy azure hue!

To church I wore it, one pleasant day,
Bedecked in ribbons of fanciful ray;
And all the while I sat on my seat
I thought of naught save my bonnet so neat.
My bonnet of blue, my bonnet of blue,
Broke not my heart when I bade thee adieu?

When service was over, my steps I bent
Towards home, a-nodding my head as I went
But, alas for my bonnet! there came a wind
And blew it away, for the strings were not pinned.
My bonnet of blue, my bonnet of blue,
What shifting scenes have been thine to pass through!

I raised my eyes to the calm, blue sky,
There sailed my bonnet serene and high!
O, what a feeling of hopeless woe
Stole over me then, no heart may know!
My bonnet of blue, my bonnet of blue,
As clear as the sky was thy azure hue!

'Twas vain to mourn for my bonnet, and yet
It taught me a lesson I shall not forget;
'Twas, never to make you an idol of clay,
For when you best love them they'll fly away.
My bonnet of blue, my bonnet of blue,
I loved thee well, but thou wert untrue!


Scheme AaxxAa bbccAa ddxxAa eeffAa ggbbAa
Poetic Form Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 1101111011 110011111 10100100111 1101111 1101111011 1110101101 111111101 0101011001 010111111 1111111011 1101111011 1111111101 1101101111 01101011111 10111101101 01101101011 1101111011 1101111111 111110111 111100101 110101101 110111111 1101111011 1110111101 1111111001 11101011101 11011111011 1111111101 1101111011 111111101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,194
Words 248
Sentences 13
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 30
Letters per line (avg) 31
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 185
Words per stanza (avg) 49
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:15 min read
127

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper born to free parents in Baltimore Maryland was an African American abolitionist and poet more…

All Frances Ellen Watkins Harper poems | Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Books

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