Analysis of Whither? (From The German Of Müller)

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



I heard a brooklet gushing
From its rocky fountain near,
Down into the valley rushing,
So fresh and wondrous clear.

I know not what came o'er me,
Nor who the counsel gave;
But I must hasten downward,
All with my pilgrim-stave;

Downward, and ever farther,
And ever the brook beside;
And ever fresher murmured,
And ever clearer, the tide.

Is this the way I was going?
Whither, O brooklet, say I
Thou hast, with thy soft murmur,
Murmured my senses away.

What do I say of a murmur?
That can no murmur be;
'Tis the water-nymphs, that are singing
Their roundelays under me.

Let them sing, my friend, let them murmur,
And wander merrily near;
The wheels of a mill are going
In every brooklet clear.


Scheme ABAB CDED FGEG AXFX FCAC FBAB
Poetic Form Quatrain  (83%)
Metre 110110 1110101 10101010 110101 11111101 110101 1111010 111101 1001010 0100101 0101010 0101001 11011110 101111 1111110 1011001 11111010 111101 101011110 11101 111111110 0101001 01101110 010011
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 699
Words 128
Sentences 8
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 89
Words per stanza (avg) 21
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

38 sec read
115

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…

All Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poems | Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Books

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