Analysis of Wife To Husband

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



Pardon the faults in me,
For the love of years ago:
Good-bye.
I must drift across the sea,
I must sink into the snow,
I must die.

You can bask in this sun,
You can drink wine, and eat:
Good-bye.
I must gird myself and run,
Though with unready feet:
I must die.

Blank sea to sail upon,
Cold bed to sleep in:
Good-bye.
While you clasp, I must be gone
For all your weeping:
I must die.

A kiss for one friend,
And a word for two,—
Good-bye:—
A lock that you must send,
A kindness you must do:
I must die.

Not a word for you,
Not a lock or kiss,
Good-bye.
We, one, must part in two;
Verily death is this:
I must die.


Scheme abCabC deCdeC xxCxxC fgCfgC ghCghC
Poetic Form Tetractys  (37%)
Etheree  (27%)
Metre 100101 1011101 11 1110101 1110101 111 111011 111101 11 111101 1111 111 111101 11110 11 1111111 11110 111 01111 00111 11 011111 010111 111 10111 10111 11 111101 1111 111
Closest metre Iambic dimeter
Characters 596
Words 131
Sentences 10
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 30
Letters per line (avg) 15
Words per line (avg) 4
Letters per stanza (avg) 89
Words per stanza (avg) 25
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 23, 2023

39 sec read
157

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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