Analysis of In The Evening
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
In the evening of our days,
When the first far stars above
Glimmer dimmer, through the haze,
Than the dewy eyes of love,
Shall we mournfully revert
To the vanished morns and Mays
Of our youth, with hearts that hurt,--
In the evening of our days?
Shall the hand that holds your own
Till the twain are thrilled as now,
Be withheld, or colder grown?
Shall my kiss upon your brow
Falter from its high estate?
And, in all forgetful ways,
Shall we sit apart and wait--
In the evening of our days?
Nay, my wife--my life!--the gloom
Shall enfold us velvetwise,
And my smile shall be the groom
Of the gladness of your eyes:
Gently, gently as the dew
Mingles with the darkening maze,
I shall fall asleep with you--
In the evening of our days.
Scheme | AbabcacA dedefafA gagxhahA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 00101101 1011101 1010101 1010111 11101 1010101 11011111 00101101 1011111 1011111 1011101 1110111 1011101 0010101 1110101 00101101 1111101 10111 0111101 101111 1010101 10101001 1110111 00101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 723 |
Words | 144 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 188 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 46 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 10, 2023
- 43 sec read
- 107 Views
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"In The Evening" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20922/in-the-evening>.
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