Analysis of Not to Keep
Robert Frost 1874 (San Francisco) – 1963 (Boston)
They sent him back to her. The letter came
Saying... And she could have him. And before
She could be sure there was no hidden ill
Under the formal writing, he was in her sight,
Living. They gave him back to her alive
How else? They are not known to send the dead
And not disfigured visibly. His face?
His hands? She had to look, and ask,
"What was it, dear?" And she had given all
And still she had all they had they the lucky!
Wasn’t she glad now? Everything seemed won,
And all the rest for them permissible ease.
She had to ask, "What was it, dear?"
"Enough,"
Yet not enough. A bullet through and through,
High in the breast. Nothing but what good care
And medicine and rest, and you a week,
Can cure me of to go again." The same
Grim giving to do over for them both.
She dared no more than ask him with her eyes
How was it with him for a second trial.
And with his eyes he asked her not to ask.
They had given him back to her, but not to keep.
Scheme | AXXXXXXBXXXXX XXXXAXXXBX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111100101 1001111001 1111111101 100101011001 1011111001 1111111101 0101010011 11111101 1111011101 01111111010 11111011 01011101001 11111111 01 1101010101 1001101111 0100010101 1111110101 1101110111 1111111101 11111101010 0111110111 111011101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 935 |
Words | 198 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 13, 10 |
Lines Amount | 23 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 357 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 96 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 19, 2023
- 58 sec read
- 198 Views
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"Not to Keep" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/30883/not-to-keep>.
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