Analysis of Elegy in April and September
Wilfred Owen 1893 (Oswestry) – 1918 (Sambre–Oise Canal)
Hush, thrush! Hush, missen-thrush, I listen...
I heard the flush of footsteps through the loose leaves,
And a low whistle by the water's brim.
Still! Daffodil! Nay, hail me not so gaily,-
Your gay gold lily daunts me and deceives,
Who follow gleams more golden and more slim.
Look, brook! O run and look, O run!
The vain reeds shook? - Yet search till gray sea heaves,
And I will stray among these fields for him.
Gaze, daisy! Stare through haze and glare,
And mark the hazardous stars all dawns and eves,
For my eye withers, and his star wanes dim.
Close, rose, and droop, heliotrope,
And shudder, hope! The shattering winter blows.
Drop, heliotrope, and close, rose...
Mourn, corn, and sigh, rye.
Men garner you, but youth's head lies forlorn.
Sigh, rye, and mourn, corn...
Brood, wood, and muse, yews,
The ways gods use we have not understood.
Muse, yews, and brood, wood...
Scheme | ABC XBC ABC XBC XDD XEE BFF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111110 1101111011 0011010101 1101111110 111101101 1101110011 11110111 0111111111 0111011111 11011101 01010011101 1111001111 1101100 01010100101 1100011 11011 1101111101 11011 11011 011111101 11011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 866 |
Words | 158 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 |
Lines Amount | 21 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 94 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 48 sec read
- 160 Views
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"Elegy in April and September" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/38505/elegy-in-april-and-september>.
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