Analysis of The Death-Song
Frances Anne Kemble 1809 (London) – 1893 (London)
Mother, mother! my heart is wild,
Hold me upon your bosom dear,
Do not frown on your own poor child,
Death is darkly drawing near.
Mother, mother! the bitter shame
Eats into my very soul;
And longing love, like a wrapping flame,
Burns me away without control.
Mother, mother! upon my brow
The clammy death-sweats coldly rise;
How dim and strange your features grow
Through the hot mist that veils my eyes.
Mother, mother! sing me the song
They sing on sunny August eves,
The rustling barley fields along,
Binding up the ripe, red sheaves.
Mother, mother! I do not hear
Your voice—but his—oh, guard me well!
His breathing makes me faint with fear,
His clasping arms are round me still.
Mother, mother! unbind my vest,
Upon my heart lies his first token:
Now lay me in my narrow nest,
Your withered blossom, crushed and broken.
Scheme | ABABCDCDEFGFHIHIJKBLMNMN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10101111 11011101 11111111 1110101 10100101 1011101 010110101 11010101 10100111 01011101 11011101 10111111 10101101 11110101 01010101 1010111 10101111 11111111 11011111 1111111 1010111 011111110 11101101 110101010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 837 |
Words | 148 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 24 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 642 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 146 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 44 sec read
- 116 Views
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"The Death-Song" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42921/the-death-song>.
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