Analysis of My Birthday
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
Beneath the moonlight and the snow
Lies dead my latest year;
The winter winds are wailing low
Its dirges in my ear.
I grieve not with the moaning wind
As if a loss befell;
Before me, even as behind,
God is, and all is well!
His light shines on me from above,
His low voice speaks within,--
The patience of immortal love
Outwearying mortal sin.
Not mindless of the growing years
Of care and loss and pain,
My eyes are wet with thankful tears
For blessings which remain.
If dim the gold of life has grown,
I will not count it dross,
Nor turn from treasures still my own
To sigh for lack and loss.
The years no charm from Nature take;
As sweet her voices call,
As beautiful her mornings break,
As fair her evenings fall.
Love watches o'er my quiet ways,
Kind voices speak my name,
And lips that find it hard to praise
Are slow, at least, to blame.
How softly ebb the tides of will!
How fields, once lost or won,
Now lie behind me green and still
Beneath a level sun.
How hushed the hiss of party hate,
The clamor of the throng!
How old, harsh voices of debate
Flow into rhythmic song!
Methinks the spirit's temper grows
Too soft in this still air;
Somewhat the restful heart foregoes
Of needed watch and prayer.
The bark by tempest vainly tossed
May founder in the calm,
And he who braved the polar frost
Faint by the isles of balm.
Better than self-indulgent years
The outflung heart of youth,
Than pleasant songs in idle ears
The tumult of the truth.
Rest for the weary hands is good,
And love for hearts that pine,
But let the manly habitude
Of upright souls be mine.
Let winds that blow from heaven refresh,
Dear Lord, the languid air;
And let the weakness of the flesh
Thy strength of spirit share.
And, if the eye must fail of light,
The ear forget to hear,
Make clearer still the spirit's sight,
More fine the inward ear!
Be near me in mine hours of need
To soothe, or cheer, or warn,
And down these slopes of sunset lead
As up the hills of morn!
Scheme | AXAB CDCD EFEF GHXH IJIJ KLKL MNMN OPOP QRQR XSGS TUTU GVGV XWCW XSXS YBYB XZXZ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (94%) |
Metre | 0101001 111101 01011101 11011 11110101 110101 01110101 110111 11111101 111101 01010101 1101 11010101 110101 11111101 110101 11011111 111111 11110111 111101 01111101 110101 11000101 110101 110101101 110111 01111111 111111 11010111 111111 11011101 010101 11011101 010101 11110101 101101 1010101 110111 1101011 110101 01110101 110001 01110101 110111 10110101 01111 11010101 010101 11010111 011111 110101 101111 111111001 110101 01010101 111101 01011111 010111 11010101 110101 111011011 111111 0111111 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,895 |
Words | 374 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 16 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 64 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 95 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:53 min read
- 66 Views
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"My Birthday" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22981/my-birthday>.
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