Analysis of A Walts With a Tear in It
Boris Pasternak 1890 (Moscow) – 1960 (Peredelkino)
Ah, how I love it in these first few days,
Fresh from the forest and out of the snow,
Awkwardness obvious still in every bough,
When every silver thread lazily sways
And every cone begins slowly to glow
In candlelight—and the white sheet below
Hides its sore stump from our eyes.
It will not bat an eye if you heap gold
And jewels on it-this shyest of fays
In blue enamel and tinfoil enfolded
Creeps in your heart of hearts—and there it stays.
Ah, how I love it all in these first days,
All golden finery and silver shades!
All in the making-stars, flags, lanterns, flares,
There are no chocolates yet in bonbonnieres.
Even the candles are no candles—they
Look more like dull sticks of makeup by day.
This is an actress still lighting stage fright
In the tumult of her benefit night.
Ah, how I love her on this opening day,
Flushed in the coulisses before the play!
Apples to appletrees, and kicks to firtrees.
Only not this one—no kicks for the beauty.
She has a different purpose and duty.
She's the select one, receiver of favours.
Her evening party will go on forever.
Others may fear proverb s-this one does not.
Her fate is only a few firtrees' lot.
Golden and fiery, she will soar high,
Like an old prophet ascending the sky.
Ah, how I love it all in these first days,
When all the world chats and fusses and plays!
Scheme | abxabbx cacaAx xaddeedd affaxg ghh Aa |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111101111 1101001101 100100101001 11001011001 01001011011 010001101 11111101 1111111111 010111111 01010011 1011110111 1111110111 1101000101 1001011101 11110101 1001011101 111111111 1111011011 0010101001 11110111001 10010101 10110111 10111111010 11010010010 1001101011 01010111010 10111011111 011100111 1001001111 1111001001 1111110111 1101101001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,307 |
Words | 246 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 6, 8, 6, 3, 2 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 173 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 41 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:14 min read
- 45 Views
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"A Walts With a Tear in It" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/4464/a-walts-with-a-tear-in-it>.
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