Analysis of March

William Cullen Bryant 1794 (Cummington) – 1878 (New York City)



The stormy March is come at last,
With wind, and cloud, and changing skies,
I hear the rushing of the blast,
That through the snowy valley flies.

Ah, passing few are they who speak,
Wild stormy month! in praise of thee;
Yet, though thy winds are loud and bleak,
Thou art a welcome month to me.

For thou, to northern lands, again
The glad and glorious sun dost bring,
And thou hast joined the gentle train
And wear'st the gentle name of Spring.

And, in thy reign of blast and storm,
Smiles many a long, bright, sunny day,
When the changed winds are soft and warm,
And heaven puts on the blue of May.

Then sing aloud the gushing rills
And the full springs, from frost set free,
That, brightly leaping down the hills,
Are just set out to meet the sea.

The year's departing beauty hides
Of wintry storms the sullen threat;
But in thy sternest frown abides
A look of kindly promise yet.

Thou bring'st the hope of those calm skies,
And that soft time of sunny showers,
When the wide bloom, on earth that lies,
Seems of a brighter world than ours.


Scheme ABAB CDCD XEXE FGFG BDXD HIHI BJBJ
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 01011111 11010101 11010101 11010101 11011111 11010111 11111101 11010111 11110101 010100111 01110101 011010111 00111101 110011101 10111101 010110111 11010101 00111111 11010101 11111101 01010101 11010101 10110101 01110101 111011111 011111010 10111111 110101110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,021
Words 197
Sentences 9
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 29
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 115
Words per stanza (avg) 28
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 26, 2023

1:00 min read
96

William Cullen Bryant

William Cullen Bryant was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post. more…

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