Analysis of A Maori Girl's Song
Alfred Domett 1811 (Camberwell) – 1887 (London)
"Alas, and well-a-day! they are talking of me still:
By the tingling of my nostril, I fear they are talking ill;
Poor hapless I -- poor little I -- so many mouths to fill --
And all for this strange feeling -- O, this sad, sweet pain!
"O! senseless heart -- O simple! to yearn so, and to pine
For one so far above me, confest o'er all to shine,
For one a hundred dote upon, who never can be mine!
O, 'tis a foolish feeling -- all this fond, sweet pain!
"When I was quite a child -- not so many moons ago --
A happy little maiden -- O, then it was not so;
Like a sunny-dancing wavelet then I sparkled to and fro;
And I never had this feeling -- O, this sad, sweet pain!
"I think it must be owing to the idle life I lead
In the dreamy house for ever that this new bosom-weed
Has sprouted up and spread its shoots till it troubles me indeed
With a restless, weary feeling -- such a sad, sweet pain!
"So in this pleasant islet, O, no longer will I stay --
And the shadowy summer dwelling I will leave this very day;
On Arapa I'll launch my skiff, and soon be borne away
From all that feeds this feeling -- O, this fond, sweet pain!
"I'll go and see dear Rima -- she'll welcome me, I know,
And a flaxen cloak -- her gayest -- o'er my weary shoulders throw,
With purfle red and points so free -- O, quite a lovely show --
To charm away this feeling -- O, this sad, sweet pain!
"Two feathers I will borrow, and so gracefully I'll wear
Two feathers soft and snowy, for my long, black, lustrous hair.
Of the albatross's down they'll be -- O, how charming they'll look there --
All to chase away this feeling -- O, this fond, sweet pain!
"Then the lads will flock around me with flattering talk all day --
And, with anxious little pinches, sly hints of love convey;
And I shall blush with happy pride to hear them, I daresay,
And quite forget this feeling -- O, this sad, sweet pain!"
Scheme | AAAB CCCB DDDB XEEB FFFB DDDB GGGB FFFB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101011110111 1010011101111101 11011101110111 011111011111 1101110111011 1111011110111 11010101110111 110101011111 1111011110101 0101010111111 10101011110101 0110111011111 11111101010111 00101110111101 110101111110101 1010101010111 10110101110111 0010010101111101 111111011101 111111011111 1101110110111 00110110110101 1110111110101 110111011111 1101110110011 11010101111101 1011111110111 1110111011111 101110111100111 0110101111101 01111101111110 010111011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 1,906 |
Words | 375 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 43 |
Words per line (avg) | 12 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 172 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 47 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:55 min read
- 68 Views
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"A Maori Girl's Song" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/864/a-maori-girl%27s-song>.
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