Analysis of Even song

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



Lay away the story,--
Though the theme is sweet,
There's a lack of something yet,
Leaves it incomplete:--
There's a nameless yearning--
Strangely undefined--
For a story sweeter still
Than the written kind.

Therefore read no longer--
I've no heart to hear
But just something you make up,
O my mother dear.--
With your arms around me,
Hold me, folded-eyed,--
Only let your voice go on--
I'll be satisfied.


Scheme ABXBXCXC XXXXADXD
Poetic Form
Metre 101010 10111 1011101 11001 101010 1001 1010101 10101 11110 11111 1110111 11101 111011 11101 1011111 1110
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 397
Words 75
Sentences 4
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 19
Words per line (avg) 4
Letters per stanza (avg) 152
Words per stanza (avg) 35
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 13, 2023

23 sec read
449

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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