Analysis of Love's Reason

Henry Van Dyke 1852 (Germantown, Pennsylvania) – 1933 (Princeton, New Jersey)



For that thy face is fair I love thee not;
Nor yet because the light of thy brown eyes
Hath gleams of wonder and of glad surprise,
Like woodland streams that cross a sunlit spot:
Nor for thy beauty, born without a blot,
Most perfect when it shines through no disguise
Pure as the star of Eve in Paradise, ---
For all these outward things I love thee not:

But for a something in thy form and face,
Thy looks and ways, of primal harmony;
A certain soothing charm, a vital grace
That breathes of the eternal womanly,
And makes me feel the warmth of Nature's breast,
When in her arms, and thine, I sink to rest.


Scheme ABBAABXA CXCXDD
Poetic Form
Metre 1111111111 1101011111 1111001101 11111011 1111010101 1011111101 110111010 1111011111 1101001101 1101110100 0101010101 11100101 0111011101 1001011111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 602
Words 119
Sentences 2
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 6
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 236
Words per stanza (avg) 59
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

36 sec read
105

Henry Van Dyke

Henry Jackson van Dyke was an American author, educator, and clergyman. more…

All Henry Van Dyke poems | Henry Van Dyke Books

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