Analysis of The Sisters - A Picture By Barry

John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)



The shade for me, but over thee
The lingering sunshine still;
As, smiling, to the silent stream
Comes down the singing rill.

So come to me, my little one,--
My years with thee I share,
And mingle with a sister's love
A mother's tender care.

But keep the smile upon thy lip,
The trust upon thy brow;
Since for the dear one God hath called
We have an angel now.

Our mother from the fields of heaven
Shall still her ear incline;
Nor need we fear her human love
Is less for love divine.

The songs are sweet they sing beneath
The trees of life so fair,
But sweetest of the songs of heaven
Shall be her children's prayer.

Then, darling, rest upon my breast,
And teach my heart to lean
With thy sweet trust upon the arm
Which folds us both unseen!


Scheme XAXA BCDC XEXE BFDF XCBC XGXG
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 01111101 010011 11010101 110101 11111101 111111 01010101 010101 11010111 010111 11011111 111101 1010101110 110101 11110101 111101 01111101 011111 110101110 110101 11010111 011111 11110101 111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 725
Words 146
Sentences 7
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 96
Words per stanza (avg) 24
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

44 sec read
122

John Greenleaf Whittier

John Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. more…

All John Greenleaf Whittier poems | John Greenleaf Whittier Books

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