Analysis of The Twilight Turns

James Joyce 1882 (Rathgar) – 1941 (Zürich)



The twilight turns from amethyst
To deep and deeper blue,
The lamp fills with a pale green glow
The trees of the avenue.

The old piano plays an air,
Sedate and slow and gay;
She bends upon the yellow keys,
Her head inclines this way.

Shy thought and grave wide eyes and hands
That wander as they list -- -
The twilight turns to darker blue
With lights of amethyst.


Scheme ABXB XCXC XABA
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 0111100 110101 01110111 011010 01010111 010101 11010101 010111 11011101 110111 0111101 111100
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 372
Words 72
Sentences 4
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 95
Words per stanza (avg) 23
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 30, 2023

21 sec read
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James Joyce

ames Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century.  more…

All James Joyce poems | James Joyce Books

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