Analysis of Voices Of The Night : Footsteps of Angels
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 (Portland) – 1882 (Cambridge)
When the hours of Day are numbered,
And the voices of the Night
Wake the better soul, that slumbered,
To a holy, calm delight;
Ere the evening lamps are lighted,
And, like phantoms grim and tall,
Shadows from the fitful firelight
Dance upon the parlor wall;
Then the forms of the departed
Enter at the open door;
The beloved, the true-hearted,
Come to visit me once more;
He, the young and strong, who cherished
Noble longings for the strife,
By the roadside fell and perished,
Weary with the march of life!
They, the holy ones and weakly,
Who the cross of suffering bore,
Folded their pale hands so meekly,
Spake with us on earth no more!
And with them the Being Beauteous,
Who unto my youth was given,
More than all things else to love me,
And is now a saint in heaven.
With a slow and noiseless footstep
Comes that messenger divine,
Takes the vacant chair beside me,
Lays her gentle hand in mine.
And she sits and gazes at me
With those deep and tender eyes,
Like the stars, so still and saint-like,
Looking downward from the skies.
Uttered not, yet comprehended,
Is the spirit's voiceless prayer,
Soft rebukes, in blessings ended,
Breathing from her lips of air.
Oh, though oft depressed and lonely,
All my fears are laid aside,
If I but remember only
Such as these have lived and died!
Scheme | ABAB CDAD CECE FGFG HEHE IJHJ XKHK HIXI XLCL HMHM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 101011110 0010101 1010111 1010101 10101110 0110101 110101 1010101 10110010 1010101 0010110 1110111 10101110 1010101 1011010 1010111 10101010 10111001 10111110 1111111 0110101 11011110 11111111 01101010 101011 1110001 10101011 1010101 01101011 1110101 10111011 1010101 1011010 1010101 10101010 1010111 11101010 1111101 11101010 1111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,297 |
Words | 236 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 101 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:11 min read
- 94 Views
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