Analysis of Over The May Hill
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
All through the night time, and all through the day time,
Dreading the morning and dreading the night,
Nearer and nearer we drift to the May time
Season of beauty and season of blight,
Leaves on the linden, and sun on the meadow,
Green in the garden, and bloom everywhere,
Gloom in my heart, and a terrible shadow,
Walks by me, sits by me, stands by my chair.
Oh, but the birds by the brooklet are cheery,
Oh, but the woods show such delicate greens,
Strange how you droop and how soon you are weary-
Too well I know what that weariness means.
But how could I know in the crisp winter weather
(Though sometimes I notices a catch in your breath),
Riding and singing and dancing together,
How could I know you were racing with death?
How could I know when we danced until morning,
And you were the gayest of all the gay crowd-
With only that shortness of breath for a warning,
How could I know that you danced for a shroud?
Whirling and whirling through moonlight and star-light,
Rocking as lightly as boats on the wave,
Down in your eyes shone a deep light-a far light,
How could I know 'twas the light to your grave?
Day by day, day by day, nearing and nearing,
Hid under greenness, and beauty and bloom,
Cometh the shape and the shadow I'm fearing,
'Over the May hill' is waiting your tomb.
The season of mirth and of music is over-
I have danced my last dance, I have sung my last song,
Under the violets, under the clover,
My heart and my love will be lying ere long.
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFGHGH IJIJBKBK ILILGMGM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011011011 1001001001 10010111011 1011001011 1101001101 100100110 1011001001 1111111111 1101101110 1101111001 11110111110 1111111001 111110011010 101110001011 10010010010 1111101011 11111110110 0100111011 110110111010 1111111101 1001011011 1011011101 10111011011 1111101111 11111110010 1101001001 1001001110 1001111011 010110110110 111111111111 10010010010 11011111011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,447 |
Words | 281 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 36 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 285 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 70 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:24 min read
- 58 Views
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