Analysis of Pine-Trees and the Sky: Evening

Rupert Brooke 1887 (Rugby) – 1915 (Aegean Sea)



I'd watched the sorrow of the evening sky,
And smelt the sea, and earth, and the warm clover,
And heard the waves, and the seagull's mocking cry.

And in them all was only the old cry,
That song they always sing -- "The best is over!
You may remember now, and think, and sigh,
O silly lover!"
And I was tired and sick that all was over,
And because I,
For all my thinking, never could recover
One moment of the good hours that were over.
And I was sorry and sick, and wished to die.

Then from the sad west turning wearily,
I saw the pines against the white north sky,
Very beautiful, and still, and bending over
Their sharp black heads against a quiet sky.
And there was peace in them; and I
Was happy, and forgot to play the lover,
And laughed, and did no longer wish to die;
Being glad of you, O pine-trees and the sky!


Scheme ABA ABABBABBA XABAABAA
Poetic Form Tetractys  (30%)
Etheree  (25%)
Metre 1101010101 01010100110 0101001101 0011110011 1111101110 1101010101 11010 011100111110 0011 11110101010 110101101010 01110010111 1101110100 1101010111 101000101010 1111010101 01110101 11000111010 0101110111 10111111001
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 811
Words 164
Sentences 8
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 3, 9, 8
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 31
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 208
Words per stanza (avg) 54
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 01, 2023

49 sec read
143

Rupert Brooke

Rupert Chawner Brooke was an English poet known for his idealistic war sonnets written during the First World War, especially "The Soldier". more…

All Rupert Brooke poems | Rupert Brooke Books

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