Analysis of When Winter Darkening All Around
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
When winter covering all the ground
Hides every sign of Spring, sir.
However you may look around,
Pray what will then you sing, sir?
The Spring was here last year I know,
And many bards did flute, sir;
I shall not fear a little snow
Forbid me from my lute, sir.
If words grow dull and rhymes grow rare,
I'll sing of Spring's farewell, sir.
For every season steals an air,
Which has a Springtime smell, sir.
But if upon the other side,
With passionate longing burning,
Will seek the half unjeweled tide,
And sing of Spring's returning.
Scheme | ABAB CBCB DBDB EFEF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 110100101 11001111 1011101 1111111 01111111 0101111 11110101 0111111 11110111 111111 110010111 110111 11010101 11001010 110111 0111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 527 |
Words | 100 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 104 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 30 sec read
- 45 Views
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"When Winter Darkening All Around" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/29007/when-winter-darkening-all-around>.
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