Analysis of A Promise.

Frances Anne Kemble (Fanny) 1809 (London, ) – 1893 ( London, )



By the pure spring, whose haunted waters flow
    Through thy sequester'd dell unto the sea,
         At sunny noon, I will appear to thee:
            Not troubling the still fount with drops of woe,
    As when I last took leave of it and thee,
    But gazing up at thee with tranquil brow,
    And eyes full of life's early happiness,
    Of strength, of hope, of joy, and tenderness.
    Beneath the shadowy tree, where thou and I
    Were wont to sit, studying the harmony
    Of gentle Shakspeare, and of Milton high,
    At sunny noon I will be heard by thee;
    Not sobbing forth each oft-repeated sound,
    As when I last faultered them o'er to thee,
    But uttering them in the air around,
    With youth's clear laughing voice of melody.
    On the wild shore of the eternal deep,
    Where we have stray'd so oft, and stood so long
    Watching the mighty waters conquering sweep,
    And listening to their loud triumphant song,
    At sunny noon, dearest! I'll be with thee:
    Not as when last I linger'd on the strand,
    Tracing our names on the inconstant sand;
    But in each bright thing that around shall be:
    My voice shall call thee from the ocean's breast,
    Thou'lt see my hair in its bright, showery crest,
         In its dark, rocky depths, thou'lt see my eyes,
    My form, shall be the light cloud in the skies,
         My spirit shall be with thee, warm and bright,
            And flood thee o'er with love, and life, and light.


Scheme ABBABCDDEBEBFBFBGHGHBIIBJJKKLL
Poetic Form Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 1011110101 1101011001 1101110111 11000111111 1111111101 1101111101 0111110100 1111110100 01010011101 01111000100 110101101 1101111111 1101110101 1111111011 1100100101 1111011100 1011100101 1111110111 10010101001 01001110101 1101101111 1111110101 101011011 1011110111 1111110101 111101111 0111011111 1111011001 1101111101 01110110101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,443
Words 245
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 30
Lines Amount 30
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 1,025
Words per stanza (avg) 245
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Submitted by halel on July 15, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:16 min read
10

Frances Anne Kemble (Fanny)

Frances Anne "Fanny" Kemble was a notable British actress from a theatre family in the early and mid-19th century. She was a well-known and popular writer, whose published works included plays, poetry, eleven volumes of memoirs, travel writing and works about the theatre. more…

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