Analysis of Sweet Wild April
William Force Stead 1884 – 1967
O sweet wild April
Came over the hills,
He skipped with the winds
And he tripped with the rills;
His raiment was all
Of the daffodils.
Sing hi,
Sing hey,
Sing ho!
O sweet wild April
Came down the lea,
Dancing along
With his sisters three:
Carnation, and Rose,
And tall Lily.
Sing hi,
Sing hey,
Sing ho!
O sweet wild April,
On pastoral quill
Came piping in moonlight
By hollow and hill,
In starlight at midnight,
By dingle and rill.
Sing hi,
Sing hey,
Sing ho!
Where sweet wild April
His melody played,
Trooped cowslip, and primrose,
And iris, the maid,
And silver narcissus,
A star in the shade.
Sing hi,
Sing hey,
Sing ho!
When sweet wild April
Dipped down the dale,
Pale cuckoopint brightened,
And windflower trail,
And white-thorn, the wood-bride,
In virginal veil.
Sing hi,
Sing hey,
Sing ho!
When sweet wild April
Through deep woods pressed,
Sang cuckoo above him,
And lark on his crest,
And Philomel fluttered
Close under his breast.
Sing hi,
Sing hey,
Sing ho!
O sweet wild April,
Wherever you went
The bondage of winter
Was broken and rent,
Sank elfin ice-city
And frost-goblin's tent.
Sing hi,
Sing hey,
Sing ho!
Yet sweet wild April,
The blithe, the brave,
Fell asleep in the fields
By a windless wave
And Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Preached over his grave.
Sing hi,
Sing hey,
Sing ho!
O sweet wild April,
Farewell to thee!
And a deep sweet sleep
To thy sisters three, -
Carnation, and Rose,
And tall Lily.
Sing hi,
Sing hey,
Sing ho!
Scheme | AbxbxbCDE AfxfGFCDE AhihihCDE ajgjxjCDE AkxkxkCDE AlxlxlCDE AmxmfmCDE anxnxnCDE AfxfGFCDE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110 11001 11101 011101 1111 1010 11 11 11 11110 1101 1001 11101 01001 0110 11 11 11 11110 11001 11001 11001 0111 11001 11 11 11 11110 11001 11001 01001 010010 01001 11 11 11 11110 1101 1110 011 011011 01001 11 11 11 11110 1111 11011 01111 0110 11011 11 11 11 11110 01011 010110 11001 110110 0111 11 11 11 11110 0101 101001 1011 010010 11011 11 11 11 11110 111 00111 11101 01001 0110 11 11 11 |
Closest metre | Iambic dimeter |
Characters | 1,364 |
Words | 260 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9 |
Lines Amount | 81 |
Letters per line (avg) | 14 |
Words per line (avg) | 3 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 122 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 29 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:18 min read
- 86 Views
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"Sweet Wild April" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/43586/sweet-wild-april>.
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