Analysis of Farewell To Frances

George Moses Horton 1779 (North Carolina) – 1883



Farewell! if ne'er I see thee more,
Though distant calls my flight impel,
I shall not less thy grace adore,
So friend, forever fare thee well.

Farewell! forever, did I say?
What, never more thy face to see?
Then take the last fond look to-day,
And still to-morrow think of me.

Farewell! alas, the tragic sound
Has many a tender bosom torn;
While desolation spread around,
Deserted friendship left to mourn.

Farewell! awakes the sleeping tear,
The dormant rill from sorrow's eye,
Express'd from one by nature dear,
Whose bosom heaves the latent sigh.

Farewell! is but departure's tale,
When fond association ends,
And fate expands her lofty sail,
To show the distant flight of friends.

Alas! and if we sure must part,
Far separated long to dwell,
I leave thee with a broken heart,
So friend, forever, fare thee well.

I leave thee, but forget thee never,
Words cannot my feeling tell,
'Fare thee well, and if forever,
Still forever fare thee well.'


Scheme abaB cdcd efef xgxg hihi jbjB kbkb
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 1111111 11011101 11111101 11010111 1010111 11011111 11011111 01110111 1010101 110010101 1010101 01010111 110101 0101111 01111101 11010101 11111 1100101 01010101 11010111 01011111 1100111 11110101 11010111 111101110 1101101 11101010 1010111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 954
Words 167
Sentences 16
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 105
Words per stanza (avg) 23
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

51 sec read
61

George Moses Horton

George Moses Horton was an African-American poet and the first African American poet to be published in the Southern United States. His book was published in 1828 while he was still a slave; he remained a slave until he was emancipated late in the Civil War. more…

All George Moses Horton poems | George Moses Horton Books

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