Analysis of Fare Thee Well
Fare thee well! and if for ever,
Still for ever, fare thee well:
Even though unforgiving, never
'Gainst thee shall my heart rebel.
Would that breast were bared before thee
Where thy head so oft hath lain.
While that placid sleep came o'er thee
Which thou ne'er canst know again;
Would that breast, by thee glanced over,
Every inmost thought could show!
Then thou wouldst at last discover
'Twas not well to spurn it so.
Though the world for this commend thee--
Though it smile upon the blow,
Even its praises must offend thee,
Founded on another's woe:
Though my many faults defaced me,
Could no other arm be found,
Than the one which once embraced me,
To inflict a cureless wound?
Yet, oh yet, thyself deceive not;
Love may sink by slow decay,
But by sudden wrench, believe not
Hearts can thus be torn away:
Still thine own its life retaineth,
Still must mine, though bleeding, beat;
And the undying thought which paineth
Is - that we no more may meet.
These are words of deeper sorrow
Than the wail above the dead;
Both shall live, but every morrow
Wake us from a widow'd bed.
And when thou wouldst solace gather,
When our child's first accents flow,
Wilt thou teach her to say 'Father!'
Though his care she must forego?
When her little hands shall press thee,
When her lip to thine is press'd
Think of him whose prayer shall bless thee,
Think of him thy love had bless'd!
Should her lineaments resemble
Those thou never more may'st see,
Then thy heart will softly tremble
With a pulse yet true to me.
All my faults perchance thou knowest,
All my madness none can know;
All my hopes where'er thou goest,
Wither, yet with thee they go.
Every feeling hath been shaken;
Pride, which not a world could bow,
Bows to thee--by thee forsaken,
Even my soul forsakes me now:
But 'tis done--all words are idle
Words from me are vainer still;
But the thoughts we cannot bridle
Force their way without the will.
Fare thee well! thus disunited,
Torn from every nearer tie
Sear 'd in heart, and lone, and blighted,
More than this I scarce can die.
Scheme | AXAB CXCX ADAD CDCD CECE FGFG CHCH DIDI ADAD CJCJ BCBC EDED KLKL BMBM ENXN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (87%) Etheree (33%) |
Metre | 11101110 1110111 101001010 1111110 11101011 1111111 111011101 1111101 11111110 1001111 11111010 1111111 10111011 1110101 101101011 1010101 11101011 1110111 10111011 101011 1111011 1111101 11101011 1111101 111111 1111101 00010111 1111111 11111010 1010101 111110010 1110101 01111010 11011101 11101110 1111101 10101111 1011111 11111111 1111111 101010 11101111 11111010 1011111 1110111 1110111 1111011 1011111 100101110 1110111 11111010 1011111 11111110 111111 10111010 1110101 11111 11100101 110101010 1111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,988 |
Words | 372 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 15 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 60 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 106 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 1:54 min read
- 455 Views
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"Fare Thee Well" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15092/fare-thee-well>.
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