Analysis of Friends

William Butler Yeats 1865 (Sandymount) – 1939 (Menton)



NOW must I these three praise --
Three women that have wrought
What joy is in my days:
One because no thought,
Nor those unpassing cares,
No, not in these fifteen
Many-times-troubled years,
Could ever come between
Mind and delighted mind;
And one because her hand
Had strength that could unbind
What none can understand,
What none can have and thrive,
Youth's dreamy load, till she
So changed me that I live
Labouring in ecstasy.
And what of her that took
All till my youth was gone
With scarce a pitying look?
How could I praise that one?
When day begins to break
I count my good and bad,
Being wakeful for her sake,
Remembering what she had,
What eagle look still shows,
While up from my heart's root
So great a sweetness flows
I shake from head to foot.


Scheme ABABCDEDFGBGHIHIJKJLMNMNOPOQ
Poetic Form
Metre 111111 110111 111011 10111 1111 110101 101101 110101 100101 010101 11111 11101 111101 110111 111111 10100 011011 111111 1101001 111111 110111 111101 101101 0100111 110111 111111 110101 111111
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 737
Words 142
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 28
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 21
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 594
Words per stanza (avg) 140
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 27, 2023

43 sec read
543

William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. more…

All William Butler Yeats poems | William Butler Yeats Books

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