Analysis of The Year's Awakening

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



How do you know that the pilgrim track
Along the belting zodiac
Swept by the sun in his seeming rounds
Is traced by now to the Fishes' bounds
And into the Ram, when weeks of cloud
Have wrapt the sky in a clammy shroud,
And never as yet a tinct of spring
Has shown in the Earth's apparelling;
O vespering bird, how do you know,
How do you know?

How do you know, deep underground,
Hid in your bed from sight and sound,
Without a turn in temperature,
With weather life can scarce endure,
That light has won a fraction's strength,
And day put on some moments' length,
Whereof in merest rote will come,
Weeks hence, mild airs that do not numb;
O crocus root, how do you know,
How do you know?


Scheme aabbccxadD eexxffggdD
Poetic Form Etheree  (25%)
Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 111110101 0101010 110101101 111110101 001011111 110100101 010110111 110011 1111111 1111 1111110 10111101 01010100 11011101 1111011 01111101 1010111 11111111 11011111 1111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 677
Words 135
Sentences 3
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 10, 10
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 266
Words per stanza (avg) 67
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 21, 2023

41 sec read
119

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…

All Thomas Hardy poems | Thomas Hardy Books

11 fans

Discuss this Thomas Hardy poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Year's Awakening" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/36591/the-year%27s-awakening>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    5
    hours
    26
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    The poet of the line: "I should be glad of another death." Is...
    A Walt Whitman
    B Emily Dickinson
    C Sylvia Plath
    D T.S. Eliot