Analysis of Incantation

Elinor Morton Wylie 1885 (Somerville, New Jersey) – 1928 (New York City, New York)



A white well
In a black cave;
A bright shell
In a dark wave.

A white rose
Black brambles hood;
Smooth bright snows
In a dark wood.

A flung white glove
In a dark fight;
A white dove
On a wild black night.

A white door
In a dark lane;
A bright core
To bitter black pain.

A white hand
Waved from dark walls;
In a burnt black land
Bright waterfalls.

A bright spark
Where black ashes are;
In the smothering dark
One white star.


Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ KLKL
Poetic Form Traditional rhyme
Quatrain 
Metre 011 0011 011 0011 011 1101 111 0011 0111 0011 011 10111 011 0011 011 11011 011 1111 00111 110 011 11101 001001 111
Closest metre Iambic dimeter
Characters 425
Words 87
Sentences 7
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 14
Words per line (avg) 4
Letters per stanza (avg) 54
Words per stanza (avg) 14
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

26 sec read
113

Elinor Morton Wylie

Elinor Morton Wylie was an American poet and novelist popular in the 1920s and 1930s. "She was famous during her life almost as much for her ethereal beauty and personality as for her melodious, sensuous poetry." more…

All Elinor Morton Wylie poems | Elinor Morton Wylie Books

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