Analysis of The Sister's Lullaby
Padraic Colum 1881 (County Longford) – 1972 (Enfield)
You would not slumber
If laid at my breast:
You would not slumber.
The river-flood beats
The swan from her nest:
You would not slumber.
And like that quick flood
My blood goes unguessed:
You would not slumber.
Times without number
Has called the wood quest:
Times without number.
As oft as she called
To me you were pressed:
Times without number.
Now you'd not slumber
If laid at my breast
Times without number.
O starling reed-resting,
I’ll rock you to rest:
So you will slumber.
| Scheme | ABA xbA xbA AbA xbA aBA xba |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 11110 11111 11110 01011 01101 11110 01111 1111 11110 10110 11011 10110 11111 11101 10110 11110 11111 10110 110110 11111 11110 |
| Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
| Characters | 470 |
| Words | 88 |
| Sentences | 8 |
| Stanzas | 7 |
| Stanza Lengths | 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 |
| Lines Amount | 21 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 18 |
| Words per line (avg) | 4 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 54 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 12 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 26 sec read
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"The Sister's Lullaby" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28520/the-sister%27s-lullaby>.
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