Analysis of Lines Written by the Side of a River
Mary Darby Robinson 1757 (England) – 1800 (England)
FLOW soft RIVER, gently stray,
Still a silent waving tide
O'er thy glitt'ring carpet glide,
While I chaunt my ROUNDELAY,
As I gather from thy bank,
Shelter'd by the poplar dank,
King-cups, deck'd in golden pride,
Harebells sweet, and daisies pied;
While beneath the evening sky,
Soft the western breezes fly.
Gentle RIVER, should'st thou be
Touch'd with mournful sympathy,
When reflection tells my soul,
Winter's icy breath shall quell
Thy sweet bosom's graceful swell,
And thy dimpling course controul;
Should a crystal tear of mine,
Fall upon thy lucid breast,
Oh receive the trembling guest,
For 'tis PITY'S drop divine!
GENTLE ZEPHYR, softly play,
Shake thy dewy wings around,
Sprinkle odours o'er the ground,
While I chaunt my ROUNDELAY.
While the woodbine's mingling shade,
Veils my pensive, drooping head;
Fan, oh fan, the busy gale,
That rudely wantons round my cheek,
Where the tear of suff'rance meek,
Glitters on the LILY pale:
Ah! no more the damask ROSE,
There in crimson lustre glows;
Thirsty fevers from my lip
Dare the ruddy drops to sip;
Deep within my burning heart,
Sorrow plants an icy dart;
From whose point the soft tears flow,
Melting in the vivid glow;
Gentle Zephyr, should'st thou be
Touch'd with tender sympathy;
When reflection calls to mind,
The bleak and desolating wind,
That soon thy silken wing shall tear,
And waft it on the freezing air;
Zephyr, should a tender sigh
To thy balmy bosom fly,
Oh! receive the flutt'ring thing,
Place it on thy filmy wing,
Bear it to its native sky,
For 'tis PITY'S softest sigh.
O'er the golden lids of day
Steals a veil of sober grey;
Now the flow'rets sink to rest,
On the moist earth's glitt'ring breast;
Homeward now I'll bend my way,
AND CHAUNT MY PLAINTIVE ROUNDELAY.
Scheme | abbCddbbecffccccghhg aiiCxxcjjckkllmmccffnnooecppee aahhac |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1110101 1010101 1011101 11111 1110111 1010101 1110101 110101 1010101 1010101 10101111 1110100 1010111 1010111 111101 01111 1010111 1011101 10101001 111101 1010101 1110101 1011001 11111 1011001 1110101 1110101 1101111 101111 1010101 1110101 1010101 1010111 1010111 1011101 1011101 1110111 1000101 10101111 1110100 1010111 01011 11110111 01110101 1010101 1110101 101011 111111 1111101 111101 10010111 1011101 101111 101111 1011111 011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,739 |
Words | 299 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 20, 30, 6 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 453 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 99 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:36 min read
- 125 Views
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"Lines Written by the Side of a River" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/26737/lines-written-by-the-side-of-a-river>.
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