Analysis of Why, Why Repine

Walter Savage Landor 1775 (Warwick) – 1864



Why, why repine, my pensive friend,
At pleasures slipp'd away?
Some the stern Fates will never lend,
And all refuse to stay.

I see the rainbow in the sky,
The dew upon the grass,
I see them, and I ask not why
They glimmer or they pass.

With folded arms I linger not
To call them back; 'twere vain;
In this, or in some other spot,
I know they'll shine again.


Scheme ABAB CDCD EXEX
Poetic Form Quatrain  (67%)
Metre 1111101 110101 10111101 010111 1101001 010101 11101111 110111 11011101 111111 01101101 111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 365
Words 73
Sentences 5
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 90
Words per stanza (avg) 24
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

22 sec read
376

Walter Savage Landor

Walter Savage Landor (30 January 1775 – 17 September 1864) was an English writer and poet. His best known works were the prose Imaginary Conversations, and the poem Rose Aylmer, but the critical acclaim he received from contemporary poets and reviewers was not matched by public popularity. As remarkable as his work was, it was equalled by his rumbustious character and lively temperament. more…

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