Analysis of The Alder Tree

Charles Mackay 1814 (Perth) – 1889 (London)



Alder tree, O alder tree,
Over his grave reclining;
I've braided a wreath of the fairest flowers
That ever were fed by the spring-time showers.
Or nursed by the summer shining.
Short, but lovely, their lives have been,
Like his in the damp sod sleeping,
And I strew them now on the hillock green,
Where a mournful watch I'm keeping.

Alder tree! O alder tree!
Is it a voice of sorrow
That sighs 'mong thy leaves in the silent night,
When the radiant hue of the moonshine bright
Announceth a pleasant morrow?
'Tis a voice of wailing, O alder tree,
'Tis the evening breeze that weepeth,
'Tis the nightingale singing a song like me,
O'er the grave where my loved one sleepeth!


Scheme Abccbxbxb Adeedafaf
Poetic Form
Metre 1011101 1011010 11001101010 11001101110 11101010 11101111 11001110 0111110101 10101110 1011101 1101110 1111100101 1010011011 101010 1011101101 1010111 10100100111 100111111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 679
Words 124
Sentences 8
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 9, 9
Lines Amount 18
Letters per line (avg) 29
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 262
Words per stanza (avg) 61
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

38 sec read
120

Charles Mackay

Charles Mackay was a Scottish poet, journalist, author, anthologist, novelist, and songwriter, remembered mainly for his book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. more…

All Charles Mackay poems | Charles Mackay Books

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