Analysis of The Quadroon Girl
The Slaver in the broad lagoon
Lay moored with idle sail;
He waited for the rising moon,
And for the evening gale.
Under the shore his boat was tied,
And all her listless crew
Watched the gray alligator slide
Into the still bayou.
Odors of orange-flowers, and spice,
Reached them from time to time,
Like airs that breathe from Paradise
Upon a world of crime.
The Planter, under his roof of thatch,
Smoked thoughtfully and slow;
The Slaver's thumb was on the latch,
He seemed in haste to go.
He said, 'My ship at anchor rides
In yonder broad lagoon;
I only wait the evening tides,
And the rising of the moon.'
Before them, with her face upraised,
In timid attitude,
Like one half curious, half amazed,
A Quadroon maiden stood.
Her eyes were large, and full of light,
Her arms and neck were bare;
No garment she wore save a kirtle bright,
And her own long, raven hair.
And on her lips there played a smile
As holy, meek, and faint,
As lights in some cathedral aisle
The features of a saint.
'The soil is barren,--the farm is old,'
The thoughtful planter said;
Then looked upon the Slaver's gold,
And then upon the maid.
His heart within him was at strife
With such accurséd gains:
For he knew whose passions gave her life,
Whose blood ran in her veins.
But the voice of nature was too weak;
He took the glittering gold!
Then pale as death grew the maiden's cheek,
Her hands as icy cold.
The Slaver led her from the door,
He led her by the hand,
To be his slave and paramour
In a strange and distant land!
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IAIA CXXX JKJK LMLM NXNX OPOP QNQN XRDR |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (92%) |
Metre | 0100101 111101 11010101 010101 10011111 010101 1011001 010110 101101001 111111 1111110 010111 010101111 110001 0111101 110111 11111101 010101 11010101 0010101 0111011 01010 111100101 01101 01010111 010101 110111011 0011101 01011101 110101 11010101 010101 011100111 010101 1101011 010101 11011111 11111 111110101 111001 101110111 1101001 11111011 011101 0110101 110101 111101 0010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,474 |
Words | 286 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 12 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 97 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 29, 2023
- 1:26 min read
- 212 Views
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"The Quadroon Girl" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18902/the-quadroon-girl>.
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