Analysis of Sad One, Must You Weep

Isabel Ecclestone Mackay 1875 (Woodstock, Ontario) – 1928 (Ontario)



'SAD one, must you weep alway?
Youth's ill wedded with despair;
Ringless hand and robe of grey
Mock the charms which they declare.'

Sad and sweetly answered she,
'What are comely robes to me?
I would wear a grass green dress,
Dew pearls for my gems--no less
Now can comfort me.'

'Sweet, the shining of your hair
(All forgotten and undone)
Squanders 'neath the veil you wear
Gold whose loss bereaves the sun.'

Very sad and low said she,
'What is shining hair to me?
When from out the rain-wet mold
Kingcups borrow of its gold
Sweet and sweet 'twill be.'

'Love, O Love! your hand is chill
As a snowflake lost in spring,
Wild it flutters--then lies still
As a bird with prisoned wing!'

Sad and patient answered she,
'As a bird I would be free;
As the spring I would find birth
In the sweet, forgetful earth--
Pray you, let it be!'


Scheme XAXA BBCCB ADAD BBEEB FGFG BBHHB
Poetic Form
Metre 111111 1110101 110111 1011101 1010101 1110111 1110111 1111111 11101 1010111 1010001 1010111 111101 1010111 1110111 1110111 11111 10111 1111111 101101 1110111 1011101 1010101 1011111 1011111 0010101 11111
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 809
Words 162
Sentences 11
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 5, 4, 5, 4, 5
Lines Amount 27
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 105
Words per stanza (avg) 26
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

47 sec read
140

Isabel Ecclestone Mackay

Isabel Ecclestone Mackay (November 25, 1875 – August 15, 1928), born Isabel Ecclestone Macpherson, was a Canadian writer. more…

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