Analysis of The Dying Queen
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper 1825 – 1911
"I would meet death awake."
The strength that bore her on for years
Was ebbing fast away,
And o'er the pale and lifep;worn face,
Death's solemn shadows lay.
With tender love and gentle care,
Friends gathered round her bed,
And for her sake each footfall hushed
The echoes of its tread.
They knew the restlessness of death
Through every nerve did creep,
And carefully they tried to lull
The dying Queen to sleep.
In vain she felt Death's icy hand
Her failing heart-strings shake;
And, rousing up, she firmly said,
"I'd meet my God awake."
Awake, I've met the battle's shock,
And born the cares of state;
Nor shall I take your lethean cup,
And slumber at death's gate.
Did I not watch with eyes alert,
The path where foes did tend;
And shall I veil my eyes with sleep,
To meet my God and friend?
Nay, rather from my weary lids,
This heavy slumber shake,
That I may pass the mystic vale,
And meet my God awake.
Scheme | A XBXB XCXC XDXD XACA XEXE XFDF XAXA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111101 01110111 110101 010010111 11011 11010101 110101 0101111 010111 11010011 1100111 01001111 010111 01111101 010111 01011101 111101 01110101 010111 1111111 010111 11111101 011111 01111111 111101 11011101 110101 11110101 011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 889 |
Words | 173 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 29 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 87 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 21 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 53 sec read
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