Analysis of Greeting
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
I spread a scanty board too late;
The old-time guests for whom I wait
Come few and slow, methinks, to-day.
Ah! who could hear my messages
Across the dim unsounded seas
On which so many have sailed away!
Come, then, old friends, who linger yet,
And let us meet, as we have met,
Once more beneath this low sunshine;
And grateful for the good we 've known,
The riddles solved, the ills outgrown,
Shake bands upon the border line.
The favor, asked too oft before,
From your indulgent ears, once more
I crave, and, if belated lays
To slower, feebler measures move,
The silent, sympathy of love
To me is dearer now than praise.
And ye, O younger friends, for whom
My hearth and heart keep open room,
Come smiling through the shadows long,
Be with me while the sun goes down,
And with your cheerful voices drown
The minor of my even-song.
For, equal through the day and night,
The wise Eternal oversight
And love and power and righteous will
Remain: the law of destiny
The best for each and all must be,
And life its promise shall fulfil.
Scheme | AABXXB CCDEED FFGXXG HHIJJI KKLMML |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11010111 01111111 1101111 11111100 010111 111101101 11111101 01111111 1101111 010101111 0101011 11010101 01011101 11010111 11010101 1101101 01010011 11110111 01110111 11011101 1101011 11110111 01110101 01011101 11010101 0101010 010100101 01011100 01110111 0111011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,010 |
Words | 192 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 160 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 38 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 103 Views
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