Analysis of Unless
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
Who has not wanted, does not guess
What plenty is.--Who has not groped
In depths of doubt and hopelessness,
Has never truly hoped.--
Unless, sometimes, a shaow falls
Upon his mirth, and veils his sight,
And from the darkness drifts the light
Of love at intervals.
And that most dear of everything,
I hold, is love; and who can sit
With lightest heart and laugh and sing,
Knows not the worth of it.--
Unless, in some strange throng, perchance,
He feels how thrilling sweet it is,
One yearning look that answers his --
The troth of glance and glance.
Who knows not pain, knows not, alas!
What pleasure is.--Who knows not of
The bitter cup that will not pass,
Knows not the taste of love.
O souls that thirst, and hearts that fast,
And natures faint with famishing,
God lift and lead and safely bring
You to your own at last!
Scheme | XAXAXBBX CDCDEFFE GHGHICCI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110111 11011111 01110100 110101 0101011 01110111 01010101 111100 0111110 11110111 11010101 110111 01011101 11110111 11011101 011101 11111101 11011111 01011111 110111 11110111 010111 11010101 111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 828 |
Words | 157 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 211 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 50 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 47 sec read
- 51 Views
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"Unless" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/21162/unless>.
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