Analysis of I have a Rendezvous with Death

Alan Seeger 1888 (New York City) – 1916



I have a rendezvous with Death
At some disputed barricade,
When Spring comes back with rustling shade
And apple-blossoms fill the air—
I have a rendezvous with Death
When Spring brings back blue days and fair.

It may be he shall take my hand
And lead me into his dark land
And close my eyes and quench my breath—
It may be I shall pass him still.
I have a rendezvous with Death
On some scarred slope of battered hill,
When Spring comes round again this year
And the first meadow-flowers appear.

God knows 'twere better to be deep
Pillowed in silk and scented down,
Where love throbs out in blissful sleep,
Pulse nigh to pulse, and breath to breath,
Where hushed awakenings are dear . . .
But I've a rendezvous with Death
At midnight in some flaming town,
When Spring trips north again this year,
And I to my pledged word am true,
I shall not fail that rendezvous.


Scheme AbbcAc ddaeAeff ghgafahfii
Poetic Form
Metre 1101011 1101010 11111101 01010101 1101011 11111101 11111111 01101111 01110111 11111111 1101011 11111101 11110111 00111001 11110111 1010101 11110101 11110111 11111 1101011 1101101 11110111 01111111 1111110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 852
Words 160
Sentences 8
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 6, 8, 10
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 227
Words per stanza (avg) 54
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 16, 2023

48 sec read
202

Alan Seeger

Alan Seeger was an American poet who fought and died in World War I during the Battle of the Somme serving in the French Foreign Legion. more…

All Alan Seeger poems | Alan Seeger Books

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