Analysis of The Student's Serenade

Anne Brontë 1820 (Thornton, West Yorkshire) – 1849 (Scarborough, North Yorkshire)



I have slept upon my couch,
But my spirit did not rest,
For the labours of the day
Yet my weary soul opprest;
And, before my dreaming eyes
Still the learned volumes lay,
And I could not close their leaves,
And I could not turn away.

But I oped my eyes at last,
And I heard a muffled sound;
'Twas the night-breeze, come to say
That the snow was on the ground.

Then I knew that there was rest
On the mountain's bosom free;
So I left my fevered couch,
And I flew to waken thee!

I have flown to waken thee --
For, if thou wilt not arise,
Then my soul can drink no peace
From these holy moonlight skies.

And, this waste of virgin snow
To my sight will not be fair,
Unless thou wilt smiling come,
Love, to wander with me there.

Then, awake! Maria, wake!
For, if thou couldst only know
How the quiet moonlight sleeps
On this wilderness of snow,

And the groves of ancient trees,
In their snowy garb arrayed,
Till they stretch into the gloom
Of the distant valley's shade;

I know thou wouldst rejoice
To inhale this bracing air;
Thou wouldst break thy sweetest sleep
To behold a scene so fair.

O'er these wintry wilds, alone,
Thou wouldst joy to wander free;
And it will not please thee less,
Though that bliss be shared with me.


Scheme ABCBDCXC XECE BFAF FDXD GHXH XGXG XIXI XHXH XFXF
Poetic Form Etheree  (33%)
Metre 1110111 1110111 101101 111011 0011101 101101 0111111 0111101 1111111 0110101 1011111 1011101 1111111 1010101 1111101 0111101 1111101 1111101 1111111 111011 0111101 1111111 0111101 1110111 1010101 1111101 101011 1110011 0011101 0110101 1110101 1010101 111101 1011101 1111101 1010111 10110101 1111101 0111111 1111111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,203
Words 237
Sentences 10
Stanzas 9
Stanza Lengths 8, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 40
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 105
Words per stanza (avg) 26
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

1:12 min read
130

Anne Brontë

Anne Brontë was a British novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Brontë literary family. more…

All Anne Brontë poems | Anne Brontë Books

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