Analysis of A Long While Ago
Letitia Elizabeth Landon 1802 (Chelsea) – 1838 (Cape Coast)
Still hangeth down the old accustom'd willow,
Hiding the silver underneath each leaf,
So droops the long hair from some maiden pillow,
When midnight heareth her else silent grief;
There floats the water-lily, like a sovereign
Whose lovely empire is a fairy world,
The purple dragon-fly above it hovering,
As when its fragile ivory uncurl'd,
A long while ago.
I hear the bees in sleepy music winging
From the wild thyme where they have past the noon—
There is the blackbird in the hawthorn singing,
Stirring the white spray with the same sweet tune;
Fragrant the tansy breathing from the meadow,
As the west wind bends down the long green grass,
Now dark, now golden, as the fleeting shadow
Of the light clouds pass as they wont to pass
A long while ago.
There are the roses which we used to gather
To bind a young fair brow no longer fair;—
Ah! thou art mocking us, thou summer weather,
To be so sunny with the loved one!—Where?
'Tis not her voice—'tis not her step—that lingers
In lone familiar sweetness on the wind;
The bee, the bird are now the only singers—
Where is the music once with theirs combined
A long while ago?
As the lorn flowers that in her pale hand perish'd,
Is she who only hath a memory here.
She was so much a part of us, so cherished—
So young, that even love forgot to fear.
Now is her image paramount, it reigneth
With a sad strength that time may not subdue;
And memory a mournful triumph gaineth,
As the slow looks we cast around renew
A long while ago.
Thou lovely garden! where the summer covers
The tree with green leaves, and the ground with flowers;
Darkly the past around thy beauty hovers—
The past—the grave of our once happy hours.
It is too sad to gaze upon the seeming
Of nature's changeless loveliness, and feel
That with the sunshine, round the heart is dreaming
Darkly o'er wounds inflicted, not to heal,
A long while ago.
Ah! visit not the scenes where youth and childhood
Pass'd years that deepened as those years went by;
Shadows will darken in the careless wildwood—
There will be tears upon the tranquil sky.
Memories, like phantoms, haunt me while I wander
Beneath the drooping boughs of each old tree:
I grow too sad as mournfully I ponder
Things that are not—and yet that used to be—
A long while ago.
Worn out—the heart seems like a ruin'd altar:—
Where are the friends, and where the faith of yore?
My eyes grow dim with tears—my footsteps falter—
Thinking of those whom I can love no more.
We change, and others change—while recollection
Fain would renew what it can but recal.
Dark are life's dreams, and weary its affection,
And cold its hopes—and yet I felt them all
A long while ago.
Scheme | ababcdedA efefagagA hihijkjkA lxlxmnmnA jjjjeoeoA pqpqhrhrA hshscacxA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111010101 100100111 11011111010 11101101 11010101010 11010010101 010101011100 111101001 01101 11010101010 1011111101 1101000110 1001110111 1001010101 1011110111 1111010101 1011111111 01101 11010111110 1101111101 11110111010 1111010111 11011101110 0101010101 01011101010 1101011101 01101 101101001110 11110101001 11110111110 1111010111 110101011 1011111101 0100010101 1011110101 01101 11010101010 01111001110 10010111010 010111011010 11111101010 1101101 1101101110 10101010111 01101 1101011101 1111011111 111000101 1111010101 100110111110 0101011111 111111110 1111011111 01101 11011101010 1101010111 1111111110 1011111111 1101011010 110111111 11110101010 0111011111 01101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,814 |
Words | 524 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9 |
Lines Amount | 63 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 296 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 69 |
About this poem
Published in The New Monthly Magazine, 1838, the poet remembers her past in anticipation of her departure from England
Font size:
Written on January 01, 1838
Submitted by Madeleine Quinn on March 13, 2024
Modified by Madeleine Quinn on March 13, 2024
- 2:40 min read
- 5 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"A Long While Ago" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/182951/a-long-while-ago>.
Discuss this Letitia Elizabeth Landon poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In