Analysis of Ballad
Amelia Opie 1769 (Norwich, England) – 1853 (Norwich, England)
Round youthful Henry's restless bed
His weeping friends and parents pressed;
But she who raised his languid head
He loved far more than all the rest.
Fond mutual love their bosoms fired;
And nearly dawned their bridal day,
When every hope at once expired,
For Henry on his death-bed lay.
The fatal truth the sufferer read
In weeping Lucy's downcast eye:
"And must I, must I, then," he said,
"Ere thou art mine, my Lucy, die!
"No,...deign to grant my last, last prayer;
'T would soothe thy lover's parting breath,
Wouldst thou with me to church repair,
Ere yet I feel the stroke of death.
"For trust me, love, I shall my life
With something like to joy resign,
If I but once may call thee wife,
And, dying, claim and hail thee mine."
He ceased: and Lucy checked the thought
That he might at the altar die,....
The prayer with such true love was fraught,
How could she such a prayer deny?
They reached the church....her cheek was wan
With chilling fears of coming woe....
But triumph when the rites began
Lent Henry's cheek a flattering glow.
The nuptial knot was scarcely tied,
When Henry's eye strange lustre fired,
"She's mine! she's mine!" he faltering cried,
And in that throb of joy expired.
Scheme | ABAB CDED AFAF GHGH IJIJ KFKF XLXL MCME |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (88%) |
Metre | 11010101 11010101 11111101 11111101 110011110 01011101 110011101 11011111 010101001 010111 01111111 11111101 1111111 111110101 11111101 11110111 11111111 11011101 11111111 01010111 11010101 11110101 01111111 11110101 1101111 11011101 11010101 110101001 01011101 110111010 111111001 00111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,172 |
Words | 221 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 114 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 1:07 min read
- 165 Views
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"Ballad" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2041/ballad>.
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