Analysis of Pan

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



This Pan is but an idle god, I guess,
Since all the fair midsummer of my dreams
He loiters listlessly by woody streams,
Soaking the lush glooms up with laziness;
Or drowsing while the maiden-winds caress
Him prankishly, and powder him with gleams
Of sifted sunshine. And he ever seems
Drugged with a joy unutterable-- unless
His low pipes whistle hints of it far out
Across the ripples to the dragon-fly
That like a wind-born blossom blown about,
Drops quiveringly down, as though to die--
Then lifts and wavers on, as if in doubt
Whether to fan his wings or fly without.


Scheme ABBCABBADEDEDD
Poetic Form
Metre 1111110111 1101110111 111001101 1001111100 111010101 11010111 110101101 1101101 1111011111 0101010101 1101110101 1111111 110111101 1011111101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 566
Words 104
Sentences 3
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 453
Words per stanza (avg) 102
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

31 sec read
111

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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