Analysis of A Story
Harriet Monroe 1860 (Chicago) – 1936 (Arequipa)
He loved her and he was untrue—
Untrue he was, let loved her still;
For out of nether darkness drew
The winds that lashed his wandering will.
She lived in joy all unaware,
In pain and joy his children bore,
While hidden spectres of despair
Drove him to love her more and more.
And when she knew the truth at last,
Suddenly she grew still and strange.
Her rag of haggard youth was cast
Upon the evil winds of change.
She heard, and could not understand;
She paled, and could not bloom again.
So bland death took her by the hand,
Looked in her eyes and made all plain,
Yes, wise death taught her all, and so,
Smiling once more, she kissed and passed.
And he, caught in life's overthrow,
Faced love and death alone at last.
At last, made strong by love and death,
He gave her truth for truth, and knew
Now she had won his perfect faith.
Dying, she doomed him to be true.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GXGX HEHE XAXA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Pantoum |
Metre | 11001101 01111101 11110101 011111001 1101101 01011101 1101101 11110101 01110111 10011101 01110111 01010111 1101101 11011101 11110101 10010111 11110101 10111101 0110110 11010111 11111101 11011101 11111011 10111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 876 |
Words | 169 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 112 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 51 sec read
- 85 Views
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"A Story" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/16877/a-story>.
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