Analysis of The Fortune-Teller
Thomas Moore 1779 (Dublin) – 1852 (Bromham)
Down in the valley come meet me to-night,
And I'll tell you your fortune truly
As ever 'twas told, by the new-moon's light,
To a young maiden, shining as newly.
But, for the world, let no one be nigh,
Lest haply the stars should deceive me,
Such secrets between you and me and the sky
Should never go farther, believe me.
If at that hour the heavens be not dim,
My science shall call up before you
A male apparition -- the image of him
Whose destiny 'tis to adore you.
And if to that phantom you'll be kind,
So fondly around you he'll hover,
You'll hardly, my dear, any difference find
'Twixt him and a true living lover.
Down at your feet, in the pale moonlight,
He'll kneel, with a warmth of devotion --
An ardour, of which such an innocent sprite
You'd scarcely believe had a notion.
What other thoughts and events may arise,
As in destiny's book I've not seen them,
Must only be left to the stars and your eyes
To settle, ere morning, between them.
Scheme | ABAB CBCB DEDE FGFG AHAH IJIJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 1001011111 011111010 1101110111 1011010110 110111111 11011011 11001101001 110110011 11110010111 110111011 0101001011 110011011 011110111 110011110 11011101001 110011010 11110011 111011010 1111111001 110011010 1101001101 10111111 11011101011 110110011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 960 |
Words | 182 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 121 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 30 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 26, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 127 Views
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