Analysis of A Farewel To America to Mrs. S. W.
Phillis Wheatley 1753 (West Africa) – 1784 (Boston)
I.
ADIEU, New-England's smiling meads,
Adieu, the flow'ry plain:
I leave thine op'ning charms, O spring,
And tempt the roaring main.
II.
In vain for me the flow'rets rise,
And boast their gaudy pride,
While here beneath the northern skies
I mourn for health deny'd.
III.
Celestial maid of rosy hue,
O let me feel thy reign!
I languish till thy face I view,
Thy vanish'd joys regain.
IV.
Susanna mourns, nor can I bear
To see the crystal show'r,
Or mark the tender falling tear
At sad departure's hour;
V.
Not unregarding can I see
Her soul with grief opprest:
But let no sighs, no groans for me,
Steal from her pensive breast.
VI.
In vain the feather'd warblers sing,
In vain the garden blooms,
And on the bosom of the spring
Breathes out her sweet perfumes.
VII.
While for Britannia's distant shore
We sweep the liquid plain,
And with astonish'd eyes explore
The wide-extended main.
VIII.
Lo! Health appears! celestial dame!
Complacent and serene,
With Hebe's mantle o'er her Frame,
With soul-delighting mein.
IX.
To mark the vale where London lies
With misty vapours crown'd,
Which cloud Aurora's thousand dyes,
And veil her charms around.
X.
Why, Phoebus, moves thy car so slow?
So slow thy rising ray?
Give us the famous town to view,
Thou glorious king of day!
XI.
For thee, Britannia, I resign
New-England's smiling fields;
To view again her charms divine,
What joy the prospect yields!
XII.
But thou! Temptation hence away,
With all thy fatal train,
Nor once seduce my soul away,
By thine enchanting strain.
XIII.
Thrice happy they, whose heav'nly shield
Secures their souls from harms,
And fell Temptation on the field
Of all its pow'r disarms!
Scheme | ABCDC AEFEF AGCGC HIXIX HJFJX ADKDK HLCLC HMNMN BEOEO XXPGP JQRQR BPCPC BSXSB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1 01110101 01011 11111111 010101 1 0111011 011101 11010101 11111 1 01011101 111111 11011111 110101 1 01011111 1101011 11010101 11110 1 11111 01111 11111111 110101 1 01010101 010101 01010101 110101 1 111101 110101 01010101 010101 1 11010101 010001 11101001 110101 1 11011101 11011 111101 010101 1 11011111 111101 11010111 1100111 1 110100101 110101 11010101 110101 1 11010101 111101 11011101 110101 1 1101111 011111 01010101 111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,881 |
Words | 288 |
Sentences | 33 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 65 |
Letters per line (avg) | 20 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 98 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 28, 2023
- 1:31 min read
- 189 Views
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"A Farewel To America to Mrs. S. W." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/29356/a-farewel-to-america-to-mrs.-s.-w.>.
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