Analysis of Evangeline: Preface
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 (Portland) – 1882 (Cambridge)
THIS is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,
Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight,
Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic,
Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms.
Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced neighboring ocean
Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest.
This is the forest primeval; but where are the hearts that beneath it
Leaped like the roe, when he hears in the woodland the voice of the huntsman?
Where is the thatch-roofed village, the home of Acadian farmers,-
Men whose lives glided on like rivers that water the woodlands,
Darkened by shadows of earth, but reflecting an image of heaven?
Waste are those pleasant farms, and the farmers forever departed!
Scattered like dust and leaves, when the mighty blasts of October
Seize them, and whirl them aloft, and sprinkle them far o'er the ocean.
Naught but tradition remains of the beautiful village of Grand-Pré.
Ye who believe in affection that hopes, and endures, and is patient,
Ye who believe in the beauty and strength of woman's devotion,
List to the mournful tradition still sung by the pines of the forest;
List to a Tale of Love in Acadie, home of the happy.
Scheme | AXXABC XBAABXDBD XBCX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101001001001001 101100101001001 11101111010010 111011111111 111101001110010 10010110011010 11010010111011011 1101111001011010 1101110011110 11110111011001 1011111010110110 1111010010010010 101101101011010 11011010101110010 11010011010010111 11010010110010110 1101001001110010 11010010111011010 1101110111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 1,249 |
Words | 218 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 9, 4 |
Lines Amount | 19 |
Letters per line (avg) | 53 |
Words per line (avg) | 11 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 334 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 72 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:06 min read
- 141 Views
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"Evangeline: Preface" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18588/evangeline%3A-preface>.
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