Analysis of Myself

Harriet Monroe 1860 (Chicago) – 1936 (Arequipa)



What am I? I am Earth the mother,
With all her nebulous memories;
And the young Day, and Night her brother,
And every god that was and is.

As Eve I walked in paradise,
Dreaming of nations, braving death
For knowledge; nor begrudged the price
When the first baby first drew breath.

I sang Deborah's triumph song;
I struck the foe with Judith's sword;
'Twas I who to the angel said,
'Behold the handmaid of the Lord!'

I was fair Helen, she for whom
A nation was content to die;
And Cleopatra, in whose doom
The world went down with Antony.

I am the harlot in the street,
And the veiled nun all undefiled;
In me must queen and beggar meet,
Wise age hark to the little child.

I am the life that ever is,
And the new glory that shall be;
The pain that dies, and the brave bliss
That mounts to immortality.


Scheme AXAB CDCD XEXE FXFG HEHX BGXG
Poetic Form Quatrain  (50%)
Metre 111111010 110100100 001101010 010011101 1111010 10110101 1101101 10110111 11100101 1101111 11110101 0101101 11110111 01011011 0010011 01111100 11010001 001111 01110101 11110101 11011101 00110111 01110011 1110100
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 798
Words 157
Sentences 8
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 103
Words per stanza (avg) 26
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

47 sec read
79

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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