Analysis of Upon the mountain's distant head

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



Upon the mountain's distant head,
With trackless snows for ever white,
Where all is still, and cold, and dead,
Late shines the day's departing light.

But far below those icy rocks,
The vales, in summer bloom arrayed,
Woods full of birds, and fields of flocks,
Are dim with mist and dark with shade.

'Tis thus, from warm and kindly hearts,
And eyes where generous meanings burn,
Earliest the light of life departs,
But lingers with the cold and stern.


Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF
Poetic Form Traditional rhyme
Quatrain 
Metre 01010101 1111101 11110101 11010101 11011101 01010101 11110111 11110111 11110101 011100101 100011101 11010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 447
Words 81
Sentences 4
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 29
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 117
Words per stanza (avg) 26
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 26, 2023

24 sec read
309

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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