Analysis of Love Songs

Harriet Monroe 1860 (Chicago) – 1936 (Arequipa)



I
I LOVE my life, but not too well
To give it to thee like a flower,
So it may pleasure thee to dwell
Deep in its perfume but an hour.
I love my life, but not too well.

I love my life, but not too well
To sing it note by note away,
So to thy soul the song may tell
The beauty of the desolate day.
I love my life, but not too well.

I love my life, but not too well
To cast it like a cloak on thine,
Against the storms that sound and swell
Between thy lonely heart and mine.
I love my life, but not too well.

II
Your love is like a blue, blue wave
The little rainbows play in.
Your love is like a mountain cave
Cool shadows darkly stay in.

It thrills me like great gales at war,
It soothes like softest singing.
It bears me where clear rivers are,
With reeds and rushes swinging;
Or out to pearly shores afar
Where temple bells are ringing.

III
And is it pain to you
That we must love and part?
Ah, if you only knew
The gladness in my heart!

Love is enough. Each day
I look upon the sun,
He loves me! I shall say,
Now is my life begun.

He loves me! Every night,
On the dark verge of sleep,
The rapture will alight
And to my bosom creep.

Peace, for I should not dare
A keener joy implore.
My soul shall feel no care—
Until you love no more.


Scheme aBcbcB BdbdB BebeB afgfg hijiji aklkl dmdm nono phph
Poetic Form
Metre 1 11111111 111111010 11110111 101011110 11111111 11111111 11111101 11110111 010101001 11111111 11111111 11110111 01011101 01110101 11111111 1 11110111 010110 11110101 111010 11111111 1111010 11111101 1101010 11110101 1101110 1 011111 111101 111101 01011 110111 110101 111111 111101 1111001 101111 010101 011101 111111 010101 111111 011111
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,238
Words 262
Sentences 20
Stanzas 9
Stanza Lengths 6, 5, 5, 5, 6, 5, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 44
Letters per line (avg) 21
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 104
Words per stanza (avg) 29
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:18 min read
102

Harriet Monroe

Harriet Monroe was an American editor, scholar, literary critic, poet and patron of the arts. more…

All Harriet Monroe poems | Harriet Monroe Books

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