Analysis of The Sphinx
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
I know all about the Sphinx--
I know even what she thinks,
Staring with her stony eyes
Up forever at the skies.
For last night I dreamed that she
Told me all the mystery--
Why for aeons mute she sat--:
She was just cut out for that!
| Scheme | AABB CCDD |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | Quatrain |
| Metre | 1110101 1110111 1010101 1010101 1111111 1110100 111111 1111111 |
| Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
| Characters | 233 |
| Words | 49 |
| Sentences | 3 |
| Stanzas | 2 |
| Stanza Lengths | 4, 4 |
| Lines Amount | 8 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
| Words per line (avg) | 6 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 88 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 14 sec read
- 94 Views
1 fan
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Sphinx" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/21123/the-sphinx>.
Powered by CITE.ME
Discuss this James Whitcomb Riley poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In