Analysis of Song (Untitled #13)

George Meredith 1828 (Portsmouth, Hampshire) – 1909 (Box Hill, Surrey)



Under boughs of breathing May,
In the mild spring-time I lay,
Lonely, for I had no love;
And the sweet birds all sang for pity,
Cuckoo, lark, and dove.

Tell me, cuckoo, then I cried,
Dare I woo and wed a bride?
I, like thee, have no home-nest;
And the twin notes thus tuned their ditty, -
'Love can answer best.'

Nor, warm dove with tender coo,
Have I thy soft voice to woo,
Even were a damsel by;
And the deep woodland crooned its ditty, -
'Love her first and try.'

Nor have I, wild lark, thy wing,
That from bluest heaven can bring
Bliss, whatever fate befall;
And the sky-lyrist trilled this ditty, -
'Love will give thee all.'

So it chanced while June was young,
Wooing well with fervent song,
I had won a damsel coy;
And the sweet birds that sang for pity,
Jubileed for joy.


Scheme AABCB DDECE FFGCG HHICI XXJCJ
Poetic Form
Metre 1011101 0011111 1011111 001111110 1101 111111 1110101 1111111 001111110 11101 1111101 1111111 1000101 00111110 10101 1111111 11101011 110101 001101110 11111 1111111 1011101 1110101 001111110 111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 787
Words 155
Sentences 7
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
Lines Amount 25
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 117
Words per stanza (avg) 30
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

45 sec read
49

George Meredith

George Meredith was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times. more…

All George Meredith poems | George Meredith Books

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