Analysis of Lines Inscribed on The Wall of a Dungeon in The Southern P of I
Anne Brontë 1820 (Thornton, West Yorkshire) – 1849 (Scarborough, North Yorkshire)
Though not a breath can enter here,
I know the wind blows fresh and free;
I know the sun is shining clear,
Though not a gleam can visit me.
They thought while I in darkness lay,
'Twere pity that I should not know
How all the earth is smiling gay;
How fresh the vernal breezes blow.
They knew, such tidings to impart
Would pierce my weary spirit through,
And could they better read my heart,
They'd tell me, she was smiling too.
They need not, for I know it well,
Methinks I see her even now;
No sigh disturbs her bosom's swell,
No shade o'ercasts her angel brow.
Unmarred by grief her angel voice,
Whence sparkling wit, and wisdom flow:
And others in its sound rejoice,
And taste the joys I must not know,
Drink rapture from her soft dark eye,
And sunshine from her heavenly smile;
On wings of bliss their moments fly,
And I am pining here the while!
Oh! tell me, does she never give --
To my distress a single sigh?
She smiles on them, but does she grieve
One moment, when they are not by?
When she beholds the sunny skies,
And feels the wind of heaven blow;
Has she no tear for him that lies
In dungeon gloom, so far below?
While others gladly round her press
And at her side their hours beguile,
Has she no sigh for his distress
Who cannot see a single smile
Nor hear one word nor read a line
That her beloved hand might write,
Who banished from her face must pine
Each day a long and lonely night?
Alexander April 1826
Scheme | XAXABCBC DEDE FGFG HCHC IJIJ XIXI KCKC LJLJ MNMN X |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011101 11011101 11011101 11011101 11110101 11011111 11011101 11010101 11110101 11110101 01110111 11111101 11111111 1110101 1101011 1110101 1110101 11010101 01001101 01011111 11010111 01101001 11111101 01110101 11111101 11010101 11111111 11011111 1110101 01011101 11111111 01011101 11010101 010111001 11111101 11010101 11111101 1001111 11010111 11010101 01010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,391 |
Words | 276 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 1 |
Lines Amount | 41 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 110 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:23 min read
- 87 Views
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"Lines Inscribed on The Wall of a Dungeon in The Southern P of I" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/3150/lines-inscribed-on-the-wall-of-a-dungeon-in-the-southern-p-of-i>.
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