Analysis of Last Night
Christina Georgina Rossetti 1830 (London) – 1894 (London)
Where were you last night? I watched at the gate;
I went down early, I stayed down late.
Were you snug at home, I should like to know,
Or were you in the coppice wheedling Kate?
She's a fine girl, with a fine clear skin;
Easy to woo, perhaps not hard to win.
Speak up like a man and tell me the truth:
I'm not one to grow downhearted and thin.
If you love her best speak up like a man;
It's not I will stand in the light of your plan:
Some girls might cry and scold you a bit,
And say they couldn't bear it; but I can.
Love was pleasant enough, and the days went fast;
Pleasant while it lasted, but it needn't last;
Awhile on the wax and awhile on the wane,
Now dropped away into the past.
Was it pleasant to you? To me it was;
Now clean gone as an image from glass,
As a goodly rainbow that fades away,
As dew that steams upward from the grass,
As the first spring day, or the last summer day,
As the sunset flush that leaves heaven grey,
As a flame burnt out for lack of oil,
Which no pains relight or ever may.
Good luck to Kate and good luck to you:
I guess she'll be kind when you come to woo.
I wish her a pretty face that will last,
I wish her a husband steady and true.
Hate you? not I, my very good friend;
All things begin and all have an end.
But let broken be broken; I put no faith
In quacks who set up to patch and mend.
Just my love and one word to Kate:
Not to let time slip if she means to mate;—
For even such a thing has been known
As to miss the chance while we weigh and wait.
Scheme | AAXA BBXB CCXC DDXD XEFE FFXF GGDG HHXH AAXA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011111101 111101111 0111111111 10100111 101110111 1011011111 1110101101 11111101 1110111101 11111001111 111101101 0111011111 11100100111 10111011101 01101001101 11010101 1110111111 111111011 101011101 111110101 10111101101 101111101 101111111 11111101 111101111 1111111111 1100101111 1100101001 111111011 110101111 11101101111 011111101 11101111 1111111111 110101111 1110111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,475 |
Words | 317 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 126 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 06, 2023
- 1:36 min read
- 72 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Last Night" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/5846/last-night>.
Discuss this Christina Georgina Rossetti poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In