Analysis of The Message
Henry Van Dyke 1852 (Germantown, Pennsylvania) – 1933 (Princeton, New Jersey)
Waking from tender sleep,
My neighbour's little child
Put out his baby hand to me,
Looked in my face, and smiled.
It seemed as if he came
Home from a happy land,
To tell me something that my heart
Would surely understand.
Somewhere, among bright dreams,
A child that once was mine
Had whispered wordless love to him,
And given him a sign.
Comfort of kindly speech,
And counsel of the wise,
Have helped me less than what I read
In those deep-smiling eyes.
Sleep sweetly, little friend,
And dream again of heaven:
With double love I kiss your hand,--
Your message has been given.
Scheme | XAXA XBXB XCXC XDXD XEBE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 101101 11101 11110111 101101 111111 110101 11110111 11001 10111 011111 11010111 010101 101101 010101 11111111 011101 110101 0101110 11011111 1101110 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 566 |
Words | 108 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 90 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 21 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 32 sec read
- 100 Views
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"The Message" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18384/the-message>.
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