Analysis of Longfellow

James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)



The winds have talked with him confidingly;
The trees have whispered to him; and the night
Hath held him gently as a mother might,
And taught him all sad tones of melody:
The mountains have bowed to him; and the sea,
In clamorous waves, and murmurs exquisite,
Hath told him all her sorrow and delight--
Her legends fair-- her darkest mystery.
His verse blooms like a flower, night and day;
Bees cluster round his rhymes; and twitterings
Of lark and swallow, in an endless May,
Are mingling with the tender songs he sings--.
Nor shall he cease to sing-- in every lay
Of Nature's voice he sings-- and will alway.


Scheme ABBCCDBCEFEFAG
Poetic Form
Metre 0111111 0111011001 1111010101 0111111100 0101111001 011010100 1111010001 0101010100 1111010101 11011101 1101001101 11001010111 11111101001 110111011
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 605
Words 112
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 474
Words per stanza (avg) 110
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
118

James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively. more…

All James Whitcomb Riley poems | James Whitcomb Riley Books

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