Analysis of The Belated Swallow
Mary Hannay Foott 1846 (Glasgow) – 1918 (Bundaberg)
And the birds of the air have nests.”
Belated swallow, whither flying?
The day is dead, the light is dying,
The night draws near:
Where is thy nest, slow put together,
Soft-lined with moss and downy feather,
For shelter-place in stress of weather
And darkness drear?
Past, past, above the lighted city,
Unknowing of my wondering pity,
Seaward she flies.
Alas, poor bird! what rude awaking
Has driven thee forth, when storms are breaking,
And frightened gulls the waves forsaking
With warning cries?
Alas, my soul! while leaves are greenest
Thy heedless head thou fondly screenest
Beneath thy wing.
How bravely thou thy plumage wearest,
How lightly thou life's burthen bearest,
How happily thy home preparest,
In careless spring!
Yet Destiny the hour may bring thee
When none of all that sing can sing thee
To joy or rest!
When all the winds that blow shall blow thee;
And, ere the floods shall overflow thee,
The sunlight linger but to show thee
Thy shattered nest
Scheme | X AABCCCB DDEAAAE XDADDDA DDFDDDF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 00110111 010101010 011101110 0111 111111010 111101010 110101110 0101 110101010 0101110010 1011 0111111 1101111110 010101010 1101 011111110 1111101 0111 11011101 1101111 1100111 0101 1100010111 111111111 1111 110111111 01011101 01101111 1101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 946 |
Words | 168 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 7, 7, 7, 7 |
Lines Amount | 29 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 153 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 50 sec read
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