Analysis of The Orphan Maid
Sir Walter Scott 1771 (College Wynd, Edinburgh) – 1832 (Abbotsford, Roxburghshire)
November's hail-cloud drifts away,
November's sunbeam wan
Looks coldly on the castle grey,
When forth comes Lady Anne.
The orphan by the oak was set,
Her arms, her feet, were bare;
The hail drops had not melted yet,
Amid her raven hair.
'And, dame,' she said, 'by all the ties
That child and mother know,
Aid one who never knew these joys,
Relieve an orphan's woe.'
The lady said, 'An orphan's state
Is hard and sad to bear;
Yet worse the widow'd mother's fate
Who mourns both lord and heir.
'Twelve times the rolling year has sped,
Since, when from vengeance wild
Of fierce Strathallan's Chief I fled
Forth's eddies whelm'd my child.'
'Twelve times the year its course has borne,'
The wandering maid replied;
'Since fishers on Saint Bridget's morn
Drew nets on Campsie side.
'Saint Bridget sent no scaly spoil;
An infant, wellnigh dead,
They saved, and rear'd in want and toil,
To beg from you her bred.'
That orphan maid the lady kiss'd,-—
'My husband's looks you bear;
Saint Bridget and her morn be bless'd!
You are his widow's heir.'
They've robed that maid, so poor and pale
In silk and sandals rare;
And pearls, for drops of frozen hail,
Are glistening in her hair.
Scheme | ABACDEDEFGHGIEIEJKJKLMLMNJNJOEPEQEQE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01011101 01011 11010101 111101 01010111 010101 01111101 010101 01111101 110101 11110111 01111 0101111 110111 11010101 111101 11010111 111101 111111 110111 11011111 0100101 11011101 11111 1101111 11011 11010101 111101 11010101 110111 11000111 111101 11111101 010101 01111101 1100001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,178 |
Words | 217 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 36 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 892 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 208 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:08 min read
- 78 Views
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"The Orphan Maid" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/35592/the-orphan-maid>.
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