Analysis of The Willow-Tree (Another Version)
William Makepeace Thackeray 1811 – 1863
Long by the willow-trees
Vainly they sought her,
Wild rang the mother's screams
O'er the gray water:
'Where is my lovely one?
Where is my daughter?
'Rouse thee, sir constable—
Rouse thee and look;
Fisherman, bring your net,
Boatman your hook.
Beat in the lily-beds,
Dive in the brook!'
Vainly the constable
Shouted and called her;
Vainly the fisherman
Beat the green alder,
Vainly he flung the net,
Never it hauled her!
Mother beside the fire
Sat, her nightcap in;
Father, in easy chair,
Gloomily napping,
When at the window-sill
Came a light tapping!
And a pale countenance
Looked through the casement.
Loud beat the mother's heart,
Sick with amazement,
And at the vision which
Came to surprise her,
Shrieked in an agony—
'Lor! it's Elizar!'
Yes, 'twas Elizabeth—
Yes, 'twas their girl;
Pale was her cheek, and her
Hair out of curl.
'Mother!' the loving one,
Blushing, exclaimed,
'Let not your innocent
Lizzy be blamed.
'Yesterday, going to aunt
Jones's to tea,
Mother, dear mother, I
FORGOT THE DOOR-KEY!
And as the night was cold,
And the way steep,
Mrs. Jones kept me to
Breakfast and sleep.'
Whether her Pa and Ma
Fully believed her,
That we shall never know,
Stern they received her;
And for the work of that
Cruel, though short, night,
Sent her to bed without
Tea for a fortnight.
Hey diddle diddlety,
Cat and the Fiddlety,
Maidens of England take caution by she!
Let love and suicide
Never tempt you aside,
And always remember to take the door-key.
Scheme | XAXABA CDEDXD CAXAEA AXXFXF XEXGXAHA XIAIBJGJ XHXHXKXK XAXAXLXL EEHMMH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011 10110 110101 100110 111101 11110 111100 1101 10111 1011 100101 1001 100100 10010 10010 10110 101101 10110 1001010 1010 100101 10010 110101 10110 001100 1101 110101 11010 010101 11010 101100 111 110100 1111 110100 1111 100101 1001 111100 1011 101011 1011 101101 01011 010111 0011 101111 1001 100101 10010 111101 11010 010111 10111 101101 1101 111 1001 1011011011 11010 101101 0101011011 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,442 |
Words | 269 |
Sentences | 27 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 8, 8, 8, 8, 6 |
Lines Amount | 62 |
Letters per line (avg) | 18 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 125 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:21 min read
- 128 Views
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"The Willow-Tree (Another Version)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41071/the-willow-tree-%28another-version%29>.
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