Analysis of A Southern Singer
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
Written In Madison Caweln's 'Lyrics and Idyls.'
Herein are blown from out the South
Songs blithe as those of Pan's pursed mouth--
As sweet in voice as, in perfume,
The night-breath of magnolia-bloom.
Such sumptuous languor lures the sense--
Such luxury of indolence--
The eyes blur as a nymph's might blur,
With water-lilies watching her.
You waken, thrilling at the trill
Of some wild bird that seems to spill
The silence full of winey drips
Of song that Fancy sips and sips.
Betimes, in brambled lanes wherethrough
The chipmunk stripes himself from view,
You pause to lop a creamy spray
Of elder-blossoms by the way.
Or where the morning dew is yet
Gray on the topmost rail, you set
A sudden palm and, vaulting, meet
Your vaulting shadow in the wheat.
On lordly swards, of suave incline,
Entessellate with shade and shine,
You shall misdoubt your lowly birth,
Clad on as one of princely worth:
The falcon on your wrist shall ride--
Your milk-white Arab side by side
With one of raven-black.--You fain
Would kiss the hand that holds the rein.
Nay, nay, Romancer! Poet! Seer!
Sing us back home--from there to here;
Grant your high grace and wit, but we
Most honor your simplicity.--
Herein are blown from out the South
Songs blithe as those of Pan's pursed mouth--
As sweet in voice as, in perfume,
The night-breath of magnolia-bloom.
Scheme | a BBCC aadd eeaa dxff gghh iijj kkll mmnn BBCC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10010011001 01111101 11111111 11011001 01110101 1101101 110011 01110111 11010100 11010101 11111111 01011101 11110101 10111 0110111 11110101 11010101 11010111 1101111 01010101 1101001 1111101 11101 1111101 11111101 01011111 11110111 11110111 11011101 111101 11111111 11110111 11010100 01111101 11111111 11011001 01110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,306 |
Words | 236 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 37 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 104 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 14, 2023
- 1:11 min read
- 71 Views
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"A Southern Singer" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20802/a-southern-singer>.
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