Analysis of Hands

Arthur Symons 1865 (Milford Haven) – 1945



The little hands too soft and white
To have known more laborious hours
Than those which die upon a night
Of kindling wine and fading flowers;

The little hands that I have kissed,
Finger by finger, to the tips,
And delicately about each wrist
Have set a bracelet with my lips;

Dear soft white little morbid hands,
Mine all one night, with what delight
Shall I recall in other lands,
Dear hands, that you were mine one night!


Scheme ABAB CDCD EAEA
Poetic Form Pantoum 
Quatrain 
Metre 01011101 1111010010 11110101 110101010 01011111 10110101 010000111 11010111 11110101 11111101 1110101 11110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 422
Words 80
Sentences 2
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 112
Words per stanza (avg) 26
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

24 sec read
412

Arthur Symons

Arthur William Symons, was a British poet, critic and magazine editor. more…

All Arthur Symons poems | Arthur Symons Books

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