Analysis of The Village Street
Edgar Allan Poe 1809 (Boston) – 1849 (Baltimore)
In these rapid, restless shadows,
Once I walked at eventide,
When a gentle, silent maiden,
Walked in beauty at my side.
She alone there walked beside me
All in beauty, like a bride.
Pallidly the moon was shining
On the dewy meadows nigh;
On the silvery, silent rivers,
On the mountains far and high,--
On the ocean's star-lit waters,
Where the winds a-weary die.
Slowly, silently we wandered
From the open cottage door,
Underneath the elm's long branches
To the pavement bending o'er;
Underneath the mossy willow
And the dying sycamore.
With the myriad stars in beauty
All bedight, the heavens were seen,
Radiant hopes were bright around me,
Like the light of stars serene;
Like the mellow midnight splendor
Of the Night's irradiate queen.
Audibly the elm-leaves whispered
Peaceful, pleasant melodies,
Like the distant murmured music
Of unquiet, lovely seas;
While the winds were hushed in slumber
In the fragrant flowers and trees.
Wondrous and unwonted beauty
Still adorning all did seem,
While I told my love in fables
'Neath the willows by the stream;
Would the heart have kept unspoken
Love that was its rarest dream!
Instantly away we wandered
In the shadowy twilight tide,
She, the silent, scornful maiden,
Walking calmly at my side,
With a step serene and stately,
All in beauty, all in pride.
Vacantly I walked beside her.
On the earth mine eyes were cast;
Swift and keen there came unto me
Bitter memories of the past--
On me, like the rain in Autumn
On the dead leaves, cold and fast.
Underneath the elms we parted,
By the lowly cottage door;
One brief word alone was uttered--
Never on our lips before;
And away I walked forlornly,
Broken-hearted evermore.
Slowly, silently I loitered,
Homeward, in the night, alone;
Sudden anguish bound my spirit,
That my youth had never known;
Wild unrest, like that which cometh
When the Night's first dream hath flown.
Now, to me the elm-leaves whisper
Mad, discordant melodies,
And keen melodies like shadows
Haunt the moaning willow trees,
And the sycamores with laughter
Mock me in the nightly breeze.
Sad and pale the Autumn moonlight
Through the sighing foliage streams;
And each morning, midnight shadow,
Shadow of my sorrow seems;
Strive, O heart, forget thine idol!
And, O soul, forget thy dreams!
Scheme | ABCBDBXEFEFB BGXHIG BJDJHJ BKXKHK BLXLCL BBCBDB HBDBXB BGBGIG BMBMXM HKAKHK BNBNXN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0110101 11111 10101010 1010111 10111011 1010101 101110 101011 101001010 1010101 10101110 1010101 10100110 1010101 0101110 10101010 01011 001010 101001010 1101001 100101011 1011101 1010110 1010101 10001110 1010100 10101010 11101 10101010 00101001 100110 1010111 11111010 101101 10111010 1111101 10001110 0010011 10101010 1010111 10101010 1010101 111010 1011101 10111101 10100101 11101010 1011101 0101110 1010101 11101110 10110101 001111 101010 1010011 1000101 10101110 1111101 10111110 1011111 11101110 1010100 0110011 101011 001110 1100101 1010101 1010101 011011 111101 11101110 0110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,402 |
Words | 384 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 72 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 162 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 05, 2023
- 1:56 min read
- 257 Views
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"The Village Street" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/8475/the-village-street>.
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