Analysis of Back Yard

Carl Sandburg 1878 (Galesburg) – 1967 (Flat Rock)



Shine on, O moon of summer.
Shine to the leaves of grass, catalpa and oak,
All silver under your rain to-night.

An Italian boy is sending songs to you to-night from an accordion.
A Polish boy is out with his best girl; they marry next month; to-night they are throwing you kisses.

An old man next door is dreaming over a sheen that sits in a cherry tree in his back yard.

The clocks say I must go—I stay here sitting on the back porch drinking white thoughts you rain down.

Shine on, O moon,
Shake out more and more silver changes.


Scheme XXX XA X X XA
Poetic Form
Metre 1111110 110111101 110101111 1010111011111110100 010111111111011111110110 11111110100111001010111 0111111111010111011111 1111 111011010
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 540
Words 104
Sentences 8
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 3, 2, 1, 1, 2
Lines Amount 9
Letters per line (avg) 46
Words per line (avg) 11
Letters per stanza (avg) 82
Words per stanza (avg) 20
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 20, 2023

31 sec read
96

Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg was an American writer and editor best known for poetry. more…

All Carl Sandburg poems | Carl Sandburg Books

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