Analysis of Messages
Francis Thompson 1859 (City of Preston, Lancashire) – 1907 (London)
What shall I your true-love tell,
Earth-forsaking maid?
What shall I your true-love tell,
When life's spectre's laid?
'Tell him that, our side the grave,
Maid may not conceive
Life should be so sad to have,
That's so sad to leave!'
What shall I your true-love tell,
When I come to him?
What shall I your true-love tell--
Eyes growing dim!
'Tell him this, when you shall part
From a maiden pined;
That I see him with my heart,
Now my eyes are blind.'
What shall I your true-love tell?
Speaking-while is scant.
What shall I your true-love tell,
Death's white postulant?
'Tell him--love, with speech at strife,
For last utterance saith:
I, who loved with all my life,
Love with all my death.'
Scheme | AbAb xcxc AdAd efef AxAb ghgh |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 1111111 10101 1111111 1111 11110101 11101 1111111 11111 1111111 11111 1111111 1101 1111111 10101 1111111 11111 1111111 10111 1111111 111 1111111 111001 1111111 11111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 674 |
Words | 129 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 87 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 21 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 39 sec read
- 76 Views
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"Messages" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13922/messages>.
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