Analysis of To Eliza

George Moses Horton 1779 (North Carolina) – 1883



Eliza, tell thy lover why
Or what induced thee to deceive me?
Fare thee well--away I fly--
I shun the lass who thus will grieve me.

Eliza, still thou art my song,
Although by force I may forsake thee;
Fare thee well, for I was wrong
To woo thee while another take thee.

Eliza, pause and think a while--
Sweet lass! I shall forget thee never:
Fare thee well! although I smile,
I grieve to give thee up forever.

Eliza, I shall think of thee--
My heart shall ever twine about thee;
Fare thee well--but think of me,
Compell'd to live and die without thee.
'Fare thee well!--and if forever,
Still forever fare thee well!'


Scheme ABAB CBCB DEDE BBBBEX
Poetic Form
Metre 01011101 110111011 1110111 110111111 01011111 11111011 1111111 111101011 01010101 111101110 111111 111111010 01011111 111101011 1111111 011101011 11101010 1010111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 624
Words 119
Sentences 10
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 6
Lines Amount 18
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 117
Words per stanza (avg) 29
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
68

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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