Analysis of A Lovers' Quarrel
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
We two were lovers, the Sea and I;
We plighted our troth ‘neath a summer sky.
And all through the riotous ardent weather
We dreamed, and loved, and rejoiced together.
* * *
At times my lover would rage and storm.
I said: ‘No matter, his heart is warm.’
Whatever his humour, I loved his ways,
And so we lived though the golden days.
I know not the manner it came about,
But in the autumn we two fell out.
Yet this I know – ‘twas the fault of the Sea,
And was not my fault, that he changed to me.
* * *
I lingered as long as a woman may
To find what her lover will do or say.
But he met my smiles with a sullen frown,
And so I turned to the wooing Town.
Oh, bold was this suitor, and blithe as bold!
His look was as bright as the Sea’s was cold.
As the Sea was sullen, the Town was gay;
He made me forget for a winter day.
For a winter day and a winter night
He laughed my sorrow away from sight.
And yet, in spite of his mirth and cheer,
I knew full well he was insincere.
And when the young buds burst on the tree,
The old love woke in my heart for the Sea.
Pride was forgotten – I knew, I knew,
That the soul of the Sea, like my own, was true.
I heard him calling, and lo! I came,
To find him waiting, for ever the same.
And when he saw me, with murmurs sweet
He ran to meet me, and fell at my feet.
And so again ‘neath the summer sky
We have plighted our troth, the Sea and I.
Scheme | AA BB CC DD EE FF GG HH II GG JJ KK FF LL MM NN AA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Couplet |
Metre | 110100101 1110110101 01101001010 1101001010 1 111101101 111101111 10111111 011110101 1110101101 100101111 1111101101 0111111111 1 1101110101 1110101111 1111110101 011110101 1111100111 1111110111 1011100111 1110110101 1010100101 111100111 010111101 11111101 010111101 0111011101 110101111 10110111111 111100111 1111011001 011111101 1111101111 010110101 1111010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,380 |
Words | 292 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 15 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 5, 2, 2, 5, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 68 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 19 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:27 min read
- 46 Views
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"A Lovers' Quarrel" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10485/a-lovers%27-quarrel>.
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