Analysis of Lily Lee
Alice Cary 1820 (Mount Healthy) – 1871
I did love thee, Lily Lee,
As the petrel loves the sea.
As the wild bee loves the thyme,
As the poet loves his rhyme,
As the blossom loves the dew —
But the angels loved thee, too !
Once when twilight’s dying head
Pressed her saffron-sheeted bed.
And the silent stars drew near.
White and tremulous with fear.
While the night with sullen frown
Strangled the young zephyr down,
Told I all my love to thee.
Hoping, fearing, Lily Lee.
Fluttered then her gentle breast
With a troubled, sweet unrest.
Like a bird too near the net
Which the fowler’s hand hath set ;
But her mournful eyes the while.
And her spirit-speaking smile.
Told me love could not dispart
Death’s pale arrow from her heart.
Hushing from that very day
Passion pleading to have way —
Folding close her little hand,
Watched I with her, till the sand,
Crumbling from beneath her tread,
Lowered her softly to the dead,
Where in peace she waits for me —
Sweetest, dearest Lily Lee.
As the chased hart loves the wave,
As blind silence loves the grave^
As the penitent loves prayer,
As pale passion loves despair.
Loved I, and still love I thee,
Angel-stolen Lily Lee.
Scheme | AABBCC DDEEFFAA GGHHIICX JJKKDDAA LLMMAA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111101 101101 1011101 1010111 1010101 1010111 111101 101011 0010111 1010011 1011101 1001101 1111111 1010101 1010101 1010101 1011101 101111 1010101 0010101 111111 1110101 111101 1010111 1010101 1110101 10010101 10010101 1011111 1010101 1011101 1110101 1010011 1110101 1101111 1010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,103 |
Words | 204 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 8, 8, 8, 6 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 176 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 41 |
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"Lily Lee" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/53960/lily-lee>.
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