Analysis of March

William Morris 1834 (Walthamstow) – 1896 (London)



Slayer of the winter, art thou here again?
O welcome, thou that's bring'st the summer nigh!
The bitter wind makes not thy victory vain,
Nor will we mock thee for thy faint blue sky.
Welcome, O March! whose kindly days and dry
Make April ready for the throstle's song,
Thou first redresser of the winter's wrong!

Yea, welcome March! and though I die ere June,
Yet for the hope of life I give thee praise,
Striving to swell the burden of the tune
That even now I hear thy brown birds raise,
Unmindful of the past or coming days;
Who sing: 'Oh joy! a new year is begun:
What happiness to look upon the sun!'

Ah, what begetteth all this storm of bliss
But death himself, who crying solemnly,
E'en from the heart of sweet Forgetfulness,
Bids us 'Rejoice, lest pleasureless ye die,
Within a little time must ye go by.
Stretch forth your open hands, and while ye live
Take all the gifts that Death and Life may give.'


Scheme XAXAABB CDCDDEE XXDAAXX
Poetic Form
Metre 10101011101 11011110101 01011111001 1111111111 1011110101 110101011 11110101 1101011111 1101111111 1011010101 1101111111 11011101 1111011101 1100110101 11111111 1101110100 11101111 11011111 0101011111 1111010111 1101110111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 898
Words 174
Sentences 11
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 7, 7, 7
Lines Amount 21
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 234
Words per stanza (avg) 57
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

53 sec read
118

William Morris

William Morris, Mayor of Galway, 1527-28. more…

All William Morris poems | William Morris Books

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