Analysis of Art And Love

James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)



He faced his canvas (as a seer whose ken
Pierces the crust of this existence through)
And smiled beyond on that his genius knew
Ere mated with his being. Conscious then
Of his high theme alone, he smiled again
Straight back upon himself in many a hue
And tint, and light and shade, which slowly grew
Enfeatured of a fair girl's face, as when
First time she smiles for love's sake with no fear.
So wrought he, witless that behind him leant
A woman, with old features, dim and sear,
And glamoured eyes that felt the brimming tear,
And with a voice, like some sad instrument,
That sighing said, 'I'm dead there; love me here!'


Scheme ABBAABBACDCEDF
Poetic Form
Metre 1111010111 101110101 0101111101 1101110101 1111011101 11010101001 0101011101 11011111 1111111111 11110101110 0101110101 011110101 0101111100 1101111111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 618
Words 118
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 486
Words per stanza (avg) 115
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

36 sec read
25

James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively. more…

All James Whitcomb Riley poems | James Whitcomb Riley Books

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