Analysis of Morning, Noon and Night

James Weldon Johnson 1871 (Jacksonville) – 1938 (Wiscasset)



When morning shows her first faint flush,
I think of the tender blush
That crept so gently to your cheek
When first my love I dared to speak;
How, in your glance, a dawning ray
Gave promise of love's perfect day.

When, in the ardent breath of noon,
The roses with passion swoon;
There steals upon me from the air
The scent that lurked within your hair;
I touch your hand, I clasp your form —
Again your lips are close and warm.

When comes the night with beauteous skies,
I think of your tear-dimmed eyes,
Their mute entreaty that I stay,
Although your lips sent me away;
And then falls memory's bitter blight,
And dark — so dark becomes the night.


Scheme AABBCC DDEEFF GGCCHH
Poetic Form
Metre 11010111 1110101 11110111 11111111 10110101 11011011 10010111 0101101 11011101 01110111 11111111 01111101 1101111 1111111 11010111 1111101 0111101 01110101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 642
Words 124
Sentences 4
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 18
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 168
Words per stanza (avg) 41
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

37 sec read
149

James Weldon Johnson

James Weldon Johnson was an American author, educator, lawyer, diplomat, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. Johnson is best remembered for his leadership within the NAACP as well as for his writing, which includes novels, poems, and anthologies. He was also the first African-American professor at New York University. Later in life he was a professor of creative literature and writing at Fisk University. more…

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