Analysis of Mowing

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



There was never a sound beside the wood but one,
And that was my long scythe whispering to the ground.
What was it it whispered? I knew not well myself;
Perhaps it was something about the heat of the sun,
Something, perhaps, about the lack of sound--
And that was why it whispered and did not speak.
It was no dream of the gift of idle hours,
Or easy gold at the hand of fay or elf:
Anything more than the truth would have seemed too weak
To the earnest love that laid the swale in rows,
Not without feeble-pointed spikes of flowers
(Pale orchises), and scared a bright green snake.
The fact is the sweetest dream that labour knows.
My long scythe whispered and left the hay to make.


Scheme ABCABDECDFEGFG
Poetic Form
Metre 111001010111 011111100101 11111011111 0111100101101 1001010111 01111100111 111110111010 11011011111 10110111111 10101110101 10110101110 11010111 0110101111 11110010111
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 678
Words 132
Sentences 7
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 38
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 534
Words per stanza (avg) 130
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 26, 2023

39 sec read
163

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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