Analysis of Her Late Husband (King's-Hintock, 182-.)

Thomas Hardy 1840 (Stinsford) – 1928 (Dorchester, Dorset)



"No--not where I shall make my own;
   But dig his grave just by
The woman's with the initialed stone -
   As near as he can lie -
After whose death he seemed to ail,
   Though none considered why.

"And when I also claim a nook,
   And your feet tread me in,
Bestow me, under my old name,
   Among my kith and kin,
That strangers gazing may not dream
   I did a husband win."

"Widow, your wish shall be obeyed;
   Though, thought I, certainly
You'd lay him where your folk are laid,
   And your grave, too, will be,
As custom hath it; you to right,
   And on the left hand he."

"Aye, sexton; such the Hintock rule,
   And none has said it nay;
But now it haps a native here
   Eschews that ancient way . . .
And it may be, some Christmas night,
   When angels walk, they'll say:

"'O strange interment! Civilized lands
   Afford few types thereof;
Here is a man who takes his rest
   Beside his very Love,
Beside the one who was his wife
   In our sight up above!'"


Scheme ABABXB XCXCXC DEDEFE XGXGFG XHXHXH
Poetic Form Etheree  (30%)
Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 11111111 111111 010100101 111111 10111111 110101 01110101 011110 01110111 011101 11010111 110101 10111101 111100 11111111 011111 11011111 010111 1101011 011111 11110101 011101 01111101 110111 111101 01111 11011111 011101 01011111 0101101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 972
Words 183
Sentences 9
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 30
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 137
Words per stanza (avg) 36
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

54 sec read
134

Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy, was not a Scottish Minister, not a Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland nor a Professor of Eccesiastical History at Edinburgh University. more…

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