Analysis of The Night Dream
Archibald MacLeish 1892 (Glencoe) – 1982 (Boston)
To R. L.
NEITHER her voice, her name,
Eyes, quietness neither,
That moved through the light, that came
Cold stalk in her teeth
Bitten of some blue flower
Knew I before nor saw.
This was a dream. Ah,
This was a dream. There was sun
Laid on the cloths of a table
We drank together. Her mouth
Was a lion's mouth out of jade
Cold with a fable of water.
Faces I could not see
Watched me with gentleness. Grace
Folded my body with wings.
I cannot love you she said.
My head she laid on her breast.
As stillness with ringing of bees
I was filled with a singing of praise.
Knowledge filled me and peace.
We were silent and not ashamed.
Ah we were glad that day.
They asked me but it was one
Dead they meant and not I.
She was beside me she said.
We rode in a desert place.
We were always happy. Her sleeves
Jangled with earrings of gold.
They told me the wind from the south
Was the cold wind to be feared.
We were galloping under the leaves
This was a dream, Ah
This was a dream.
And her mouth
Was not your mouth nor her eyes,
But the rivers were four and I knew
As a secret between us, the way
Hands touch, it was you.
Scheme | x abaxbxCdxexbxfxgxxxxxhdxgfixexiCxexjhj |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111 100101 110010 1110111 11001 1011110 110111 11011 1101111 11011010 1101001 10101111 11010110 101111 1111001 1011011 1101111 1111101 11011011 111101011 101101 10100101 110111 1111111 111011 1101111 1100101 1011001 1011011 11101101 1011111 101001001 11011 1101 001 1111101 101001011 101001101 11111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,082 |
Words | 227 |
Sentences | 24 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 38 |
Lines Amount | 39 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 427 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 113 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:08 min read
- 40 Views
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