Analysis of In Memoriam
Emma Lazarus 1849 (New York City) – 1887 (New York City)
O FRIEND who passed away while flowers died,
Now that the land bursts into bloom again,
With vivid blossoms o'er the landscape wide,
Purple and white 'mongst, grasses golden-eyed,
In beauteous resurrection o'er the plain,—
My thoughts revert to thee, who liest still,
Under the pulsing, stirring, glowing earth;
Not rising with the lilac on the hill,
Not waking with the sunny daffodil,
Living and breathing with no second birth.
In these sweet days I dream I see thy grave,
A mockery of death, alive with flowers.
The delicate sprays and tender grasses wave,
Blue violets and the hardy crocus brave,
Wooed back to life by sunshine, dew, and showers.
I cannot deem that thou art lying there,
Asleep through all these fervent days of spring;
For I perceive thy spirit in the air,
Around me ever in my dream and prayer,
Enskied and hallowed by thy suffering.
When thou didst walk upon the earth before,
My trivial words and deeds alone were thine;
But now my holiest dreams are evermore
Blended with thoughts of thee, on that far shore,
Where thy pale, girlish face has grown divine.
Through the dark shadows thou must go alone;
And lo! thou hast a dauntless bravery,
A most majestic resignation shown;
A valiant patience, a faith not overthrown
By the dread terror of uncertainty.
The day had fled, from thee for evermore,
Thy soul was ebbing with the waning light,
And still thou asked, aweary and heartsore,
The same pathetic question o'er and o'er,—
'O, I am tired! will I go to-night?'
Aye, thou didst go,— and where? Thou knowest now.
Nature is innocent as well as fair;
Lillies, as well as amaranth, wreathe her brow.
She hath thy soul; because I cannot know
Where it may be, I feel it everywhere.
And thus the spring hath brought me flowers of worth.
O mourners, cease to weep o'er empty graves!
Open them all! no dead come trooping forth,
To fill with ghastly hosts the living earth;
Only the flowers bloom, the green grass waves.
Those ye laid low with solemn rites and tears,
Elude you; while ye weep, they all have flown.
And so I lay aside my doubts and fears;
My friend in day-dreams and at night appears,
And hovers near when I am most alone.
Scheme | AXAAX BCBBC DEDDE FGFFG HIHHI JKJJK HLFXL MFMXF CNXCN XJOOJ |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111011101 1101101101 1101010011 1001110101 010101001 110111111 1001010101 110101101 110101010 1001011101 0111111111 01001101110 01001010101 11000010101 1111111010 1101111101 0111110111 1101110001 0111001101 101011100 1111010101 11001010101 1111001110 1011111111 1111011101 101111101 011101100 010100101 0101001101 1011010100 011111110 1111010101 0111101 010101010010 1111011111 111101111 1011001111 111110101 1111011101 111111110 01011111011 11011110101 1011111101 1111010101 1001010111 1111110101 0111111111 0111011101 1101101101 0101111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,121 |
Words | 390 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 50 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 168 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 38 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 03, 2023
- 1:58 min read
- 88 Views
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"In Memoriam" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/12686/in-memoriam>.
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