Analysis of Never The Time And The Place

Robert Browning 1812 (Camberwell) – 1889 (Venice)



Never the time and the place
And the loved one all together!
This path--how soft to pace!
This May -- what magic weather!
Where is the loved one's face?
In a dream that loved one's face meets mine,
But the house is narrow, the place is bleak
Where, outside, rain and wind combine
With a furtive ear, if I strive to speak,
With a hostile eye at my flushing cheek,
With a malice that marks each word, each sign!
O enemy sly and serpentine,
Uncoil thee from the waking man!
Do I hold the Past
Thus firm and fast
Yet doubt if the Future hold I can?
This path so soft to pace shall lead
Thro' the magic of May to herself indeed!
Or narrow if needs the house must be,
Outside are the storms and strangers: we
Oh, close, safe, warm sleep I and she, --
I and she!


Scheme ABABACDCDDCCEFFEGHIIII
Poetic Form
Metre 1001001 00111010 111111 1111010 110111 001111111 1011100111 11110110 1010111111 1010111101 1010111111 11001010 1110101 11101 1101 111010111 11111111 10101110101 110110111 111010101 11111101 101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 742
Words 152
Sentences 10
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 22
Lines Amount 22
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 573
Words per stanza (avg) 150
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 11, 2023

46 sec read
241

Robert Browning

Robert Browning was the father of poet Robert Browning. more…

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