Analysis of Going For Water

Robert Frost 1874 (San Francisco) – 1963 (Boston)



The well was dry beside the door,
And so we went with pail and can
Across the fields behind the house
To seek the brook if still it ran;
Not loth to have excuse to go,
Because the autumn eve was fair
(Though chill), because the fields were ours,
And by the brook our woods were there.

We ran as if to meet the moon
That slowly dawned behind the trees,
The barren boughs without the leaves,
Without the birds, without the breeze.

But once within the wood, we paused
Like gnomes that hid us from the moon,
Ready to run to hiding new
With laughter when she found us soon.

Each laid on other a staying hand
To listen ere we dared to look,
And in the hush we joined to make
We heard, we knew we heard the brook.

A note as from a single place,
A slender tinkling fall that made
Now drops that floated on the pool
Like pearls, and now a silver blade.


Scheme XAXAXBXB CDXD XCXC XEXE XFXF
Poetic Form
Metre 01110101 01111101 01010101 11011111 11110111 01010111 110101010 010110101 11111101 11010101 01010101 01010101 11010111 11111101 10111101 11011111 111100101 11011111 00011111 11111101 01110101 010100111 11110101 11010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 829
Words 170
Sentences 6
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 8, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 131
Words per stanza (avg) 34
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 24, 2023

51 sec read
333

Robert Frost

Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in America. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. more…

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