Analysis of Dusk
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
The frightened herds of clouds across the sky
Trample the sunshine down, and chase the day
Into the dusky forest-lands of gray
And sombre twilight. Far and faint, and high,
The wild goose trails his harrow, with a cry
Sad as the wail of some poor castaway
Who sees a vessel drifting far astray
Of his last hope, and lays him down to die.
The children, riotous from school, grow bold
And quarrel with the wind whose angry gust
Plucks off the summer-hat, and flaps the fold
Of many a crimson cloak, and twirls the dust
In spiral shapes grotesque, and dims the gold
Of gleaming tresses with the blur of rust.
Scheme | ABBAABBACDCDCD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101110101 100110101 010110111 01110101 0111110101 110111110 1101010101 1111011111 0101001111 0101011101 1101010101 11001010101 0101010101 1101010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 600 |
Words | 114 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 479 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 112 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 28, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 82 Views
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"Dusk" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20871/dusk>.
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