Analysis of The Oft-Repeated Dream

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



She had no saying dark enough
For the dark pine that kept
Forever trying the window latch
Of the room where they slept.

The tireless but ineffectual hands
That with every futile pass
Made the great tree seem as a little bird
Before the mystery of glass!

It never had been inside the room,
And only one of the two
Was afraid in an oft-repeated dream
Of what the tree might do.


Scheme XAXA XBXB XCXC
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 11110101 101111 010100101 101111 0100101001 11100101 1011110101 01010011 110110101 0101101 1010110101 110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 372
Words 74
Sentences 4
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 100
Words per stanza (avg) 24
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 22, 2023

22 sec read
525

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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