Analysis of Autumn

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 (Portland) – 1882 (Cambridge)



Thou comest, Autumn, heralded by the rain,
  With banners, by great gales incessant fanned,
  Brighter than brightest silks of Samarcand,
  And stately oxen harnessed to thy wain!
Thou standest, like imperial Charlemagne,
  Upon thy bridge of gold; thy royal hand
  Outstretched with benedictions o'er the land,
  Blessing the farms through all thy vast domain!
Thy shield is the red harvest moon, suspended
  So long beneath the heaven's o'er-hanging eaves;
  Thy steps are by the farmer's prayers attended;
Like flames upon an altar shine the sheaves;
  And, following thee, in thy ovation splendid,
  Thine almoner, the wind, scatters the golden leaves!


Scheme ABBAABBACDCDCD
Poetic Form
Metre 1110100101 1101110101 10110111 0101010111 111010010 0111111101 01111001 1001111101 11101101010 110101010101 11110101010 1101110101 010010101010 11000110101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 651
Words 102
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 36
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 510
Words per stanza (avg) 100
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 22, 2023

31 sec read
208

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline. more…

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