Analysis of The Green Bay Tree

Charles Mackay 1814 (Perth) – 1889 (London)



'Where is the place of their first fond meeting,
'Where, oh where, is that green bay tree,
'Under whose cover
'The maid and her lover
'Plighted their troth and their constancy?'
O the winter nights were bleak and dreary,
The storms of summer were fierce and free;
Its trunk is shattered,
Its branches are scattered,
O! withered and dead is that green bay tree!

'Where are the lovers who courted its shadow,
'Where, oh where, may those fond ones be?
'The troth which they plighted,
'How is it requited-
'Say, have they forgotten that green bay tree?'
The lover was fickle, and would not remember;
He met with another more fair than she;
For her-broken-hearted,
Her peace hath departed,
The maiden doth fade like the green bay tree!


Scheme XABBAAACCA XACCABADDA
Poetic Form Tetractys  (35%)
Etheree  (20%)
Metre 1101111110 11111111 10110 010010 11101100 1010101010 011100101 11110 110110 1100111111 1101011011 11111111 01111 1111 1110101111 010110011010 1110101111 101010 011010 0101110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 736
Words 132
Sentences 7
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 10, 10
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 282
Words per stanza (avg) 64
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

39 sec read
23

Charles Mackay

Charles Mackay was a Scottish poet, journalist, author, anthologist, novelist, and songwriter, remembered mainly for his book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. more…

All Charles Mackay poems | Charles Mackay Books

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