Analysis of Love And A Question

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



A stranger came to the door at eve,
And he spoke the bridegroom fair.
He bore a green-white stick in his hand,
And, for all burden, care.
He asked with the eyes more than the lips
For a shelter for the night,
And he turned and looked at the road afar
Without a window light.

The bridegroom came forth into the porch
With, 'Let us look at the sky,
And question what of the night to be,
Stranger, you and I.'
The woodbine leaves littered the yard,
The woodbine berries were blue,
Autumn, yes, winter was in the wind;
'Stranger, I wish I knew.'

Within, the bride in the dusk alone
Bent over the open fire,
Her face rose-red with the glowing coal
And the thought of the heart's desire.

The bridegroom looked at the weary road,
Yet saw but her within,
And wished her heart in a case of gold
And pinned with a silver pin.

The bridegroom thought it little to give
A dole of bread, a purse,
A heartfelt prayer for the poor of God,
Or for the rich a curse;

But whether or not a man was asked
To mar the love of two
By harboring woe in the bridal house,
The bridegroom wished he knew.


Scheme XAXAXBXB XCXCXDXD XEXE XFXF XGXG XDXD
Poetic Form
Metre 010110111 011011 110111011 011101 111011101 1010101 0110110101 010101 01110101 1111101 010110111 10101 0111001 011001 101101001 101111 010100101 11001010 011110101 001101010 01110101 111001 010100111 0110101 01111011 011101 01110111 110101 110110111 110111 1100100101 01111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,051
Words 214
Sentences 9
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 138
Words per stanza (avg) 35
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 19, 2023

1:03 min read
162

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…

All Robert Frost poems | Robert Frost Books

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