Analysis of To Sylvia
"O love, lean thou thy cheek to mine,
And let the tears together flow"--
Such was the song you sang to me
Once, long ago.
Such was the song you sang; and yet
(O be not wroth!) I scarcely knew
What sounds flow'd forth; I only felt
That you were you.
I scarcely knew your hair was gold,
Nor of the heavens' own blue your eyes.
Sylvia and song, divinely mixt,
Made Paradise.
These things I scarcely knew; to-day,
When love is lost and hope is fled,
The song you sang so long ago
Rings in my head.
Clear comes each note and true; to-day,
As in a picture I behold
Your tur'd-up chin, and small, sweet head
Misty with gold.
I see how your dear eyes grew deep,
How your lithe body thrilled and swayed,
And how were whiter than the keys
Your hands that played. . .
Ah, sweetest! cruel have you been,
And robbed my life of many things.
I will not chide; ere this I knew
That Love had wings.
You've robbed my life of many things--
Of love and hope, of fame and pow'r.
So be it, sweet. You cannot steal
One golden hour.
Scheme | XAXA BCXC DXBX EFAF EDFD XGXG XHCH HXXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (75%) |
Metre | 11111111 01010101 11011111 1101 11011101 11111101 11111101 1101 11011111 110101111 100010101 110 11110111 11110111 01111101 1011 11110111 10010101 11110111 1011 11111111 11110101 01010101 1111 11010111 01111101 11111111 1111 11111101 110111011 11111101 11010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 985 |
Words | 200 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 95 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:01 min read
- 92 Views
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"To Sylvia" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2168/to-sylvia>.
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