Analysis of May

Christina Georgina Rossetti 1830 (London) – 1894 (London)



I cannot tell you how it was,
But this I know: it came to pass
Upon a bright and sunny day
When May was young; ah, pleasant May!
As yet the poppies were not born
Between the blades of tender corn;
The last egg had not hatched as yet,
Nor any bird foregone its mate.

I cannot tell you what it was,
But this I know: it did but pass.
It passed away with sunny May,
Like all sweet things it passed away,
And left me old, and cold, and gray.


Scheme ABCCDDXX ABCCC
Poetic Form
Metre 11011111 11111111 01010101 11111101 11010011 01011101 01111111 11011111 11011111 11111111 11011101 11111101 01110101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 432
Words 93
Sentences 5
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 5
Lines Amount 13
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 165
Words per stanza (avg) 46
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 25, 2023

27 sec read
216

Christina Georgina Rossetti

Christina Georgina Rossetti was an English poet who wrote various romantic, devotional, and children's poems. "Goblin Market" and "Remember" remain famous. She wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in the UK: "In the Bleak Midwinter", later set by Gustav Holst and by Harold Darke, and "Love Came Down at Christmas", set by Harold Darke and by other composers. more…

All Christina Georgina Rossetti poems | Christina Georgina Rossetti Books

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