Analysis of Emmy
Arthur Symons 1865 (Milford Haven) – 1945
Emmy's exquisite youth and her virginal air,
Eyes and teeth in the flash of a musical smile,
Come to me out of the past, and I see her there
As I saw her once for a while.
Emmy's laughter rings in my ears, as bright,
Fresh and sweet as the voice of a mountain brook,
And still I hear her telling us tales that night,
Out of Boccaccio's book.
There, in the midst of the villainous dancing-hall,
Leaning across the table, over the beer,
While the music maddened the whirling skirts of the ball,
As the midnight hour drew near,
There with the women, haggard, painted and old,
One fresh bud in a garland withered and stale,
She, with her innocent voice and her clear eyes, told
Tale after shameless tale.
And ever the witching smile, to her face beguiled,
Paused and broadened, and broke in a ripple of fun,
And the soul of a child looked out of the eyes of a child,
Or ever the tale was done.
O my child, who wronged you first, and began
First the dance of death that you dance so well?
Soul for soul: and I think the soul of a man
Shall answer for yours in hell.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ KLKL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Traditional rhyme Quatrain |
Metre | 101001001001 101001101001 111110101101 11101101 1010101111 10110110101 01110101111 1111 100110100101 10010101001 101010101101 1011011 11010101001 11100101001 110100100111 110101 010010110101 101001001011 00110111101101 1100111 1111111001 1011111111 11101101101 1101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,068 |
Words | 208 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 136 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 34 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:03 min read
- 47 Views
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"Emmy" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/3955/emmy>.
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