Analysis of The Little Sister
Dora Sigerson Shorter 1866 (Dublin) – 1918
The wind knocks at the window,
And my heart is full of fear,
For I know when it is calling
That some evil thing is near.
It whispers in the chimney,
And I strike the log to flame,
Lest it come down and take me
To the land that hath no name.
For once I had a sister,
Who now am left alone,
And here we sat together,
When the wind did sigh and moan.
There came a gentle knocking
Quick and sudden at the door,
And my sister hushed my terror,
Saying, ''Tis the wind, a-stór!'
She took my arms from round her,
She kissed me, cheek and chin,
But I cried, 'Oh, little sister,
Do not let the robber in!'
She rose up from me laughing,
But her face was strange and white,
And she opened wide the window,
Looking long into the night.
And I said, 'Oh, little sister,
There is on your cheek a tear!'
''Tis but the rain,' she whispered;
But my heart was full of fear.
And I said, 'Oh, little sister,
There's a hand upon the door.'
Soft she chid me from my crying,
Saying, ''Tis the wind, a-stór.'
And turning from me smiling,
She took down the bar and chain,
But her cheek was like the lily
As she went into the rain.
And I said, 'Oh, little sister,
Will you then return no more?'
But I only heard the pushing
Of the wind upon the door.
Long I cried, 'Oh, little sister,
Will you soon come back again?'
But I only heard the beating
Of the storm upon the pane.
Now my mother sits in sorrow,
Weeping all the livelong day;
And I think she dreads the robber
Who did take her child away.
So I put up bar and shutter
When the wind goes howling by,
For I know when it comes knocking
That some evil thing is nigh.
Scheme | abcbdedefgfgchfIfjfjckak FxxbFhcIcldlFhchfxclamfmfncn |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0111010 0111111 11111110 1110111 1100010 0110111 1111011 1011111 1111010 111101 0111010 1011101 1101010 1010101 01101110 10101011 1111110 111101 11111010 1110100 1111110 1011101 01101010 1010101 01111010 1111101 1101110 1111111 01111010 1010101 11111110 10101011 0101110 1110101 10111010 1110101 01111010 1110111 11101010 1010101 11111010 1111101 11101010 1010101 11101010 101011 01111010 1110101 11111010 1011101 11111110 1110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,550 |
Words | 329 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 24, 28 |
Lines Amount | 52 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 595 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 160 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:36 min read
- 71 Views
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