Analysis of To Helene

George Darley 1795 (Dublin) – 1846 (London)



I sent a ring—a little band
Of emerald and ruby stone,
And bade it, sparkling on thy hand,
Tell thee sweet tales of one
Whose constant memory
Was full of loveliness, and thee.

A shell was graven on its gold,—
'Twas Cupid fix'd without his wings—
To Helene once it would have told
More than was ever told by rings:
But now all 's past and gone,
Her love is buried with that stone.

Thou shalt not see the tears that start
From eyes by thoughts like these beguiled;
Thou shalt not know the beating heart,
Ever a victim and a child:
Yet Helene, love, believe
The heart that never could deceive.

I'll hear thy voice of melody
In the sweet whispers of the air;
I'll see the brightness of thine eye
In the blue evening's dewy star;
In crystal streams thy purity;
And look on Heaven to look on thee.


Scheme ABAXCC DEDEXB FGFGHH CXXXCC
Poetic Form
Metre 11010101 1100101 01110111 111111 110100 111101 01110111 11010111 10111111 11110111 1111101 01110111 11110111 11111101 11110101 10010001 101101 01110101 11111100 00110101 11010111 00110101 01011100 011101111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 805
Words 154
Sentences 5
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 153
Words per stanza (avg) 38
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

47 sec read
34

George Darley

George Darley was an Irish poet, novelist, and critic. more…

All George Darley poems | George Darley Books

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