Analysis of The Murdered Lover
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
Say a mass for my soul's repose, my brother,
Say a mass for my soul's repose, I need it,
Lovingly lived we, the sons of one mother,
Mine was the sin, but I pray you not heed it.
Dark were her eyes as the sloe and they called me,
Called me with voice independent of breath.
God! how my heart beat; her beauty appalled me,
Dazed me, and drew to the sea-brink of death.
Lithe was her form like a willow. She beckoned,
What could I do save to follow and follow,
Nothing of right or result could be reckoned;
Life without her was unworthy and hollow.
Ay, but I wronged thee, my brother, my brother;
Ah, but I loved her, thy beautiful wife.
Shade of our father, and soul of our mother,
Have I not paid for my love with my life?
Dark was the night when, revengeful, I met you,
Deep in the heart of a desolate land.
Warm was the life-blood which angrily wet you
Sharp was the knife that I felt from your hand.
Wept you, oh, wept you, alone by the river,
When my stark carcass you secretly sank.
Ha, now I see that you tremble and shiver;
'T was but my spirit that passed when you shrank!
Weep not, oh, weep not, 't is over, 't is over;
Stir the dark weeds with the turn of the tide;
Go, thou hast sent me forth, ever a rover,
Rest and the sweet realm of heaven denied.
Say a mass for my soul's repose, my brother,
Say a mass for my soul, I need it.
Sin of mine was it, and sin of no other,
Mine was it all, but I pray you not heed it.
Scheme | Abab cdcd efef agag hihi ajaj akak Abab |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 10111101110 10111101111 10011011110 11011111111 10011010111 111101011 11111010011 1101101111 1101101110 11111110010 10111011110 10101010010 11111110110 1111011001 1110100111010 1111111111 110111111 1001101001 11011110011 1101111111 11111011010 1111011001 11111110010 11111011111 1111111101110 1011101101 11111110010 1001111001 10111101110 101111111 11111011110 11111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,403 |
Words | 292 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 134 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:28 min read
- 74 Views
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"The Murdered Lover" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28920/the-murdered-lover>.
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