Analysis of A Portrait.
Nathaniel Parker Willis 1806 (Portland) – 1867
She's beautiful! Her raven curls
Have broken hearts in envious girls -
And then they sleep in contrast so,
Like raven feathers upon snow,
And bathe her neck - and shade the bright
Dark eye from which they catch the light,
As if their graceful loops were made
To keep that glorious eye in shade,
And holier make its tranquil spell,
Like waters in a shaded well.
I cannot rhyme about that eye -
I've match'd it with a midnight sky -
I've said 'twas deep, and dark, and wild,
Expressive, liquid, witching, mild -
But the jewell'd star, and the living air
Have nothing in them half so fair.
She's noble - noble - one to keep
Embalm'd for dreams of fever'd sleep -
An eye for nature - taste refin'd,
Perception swift, and ballanc'd mind, -
And more than all, a gift of thought
To such a spirit-fineness wrought,
That on my ear her language fell,
As if each word dissolv'd a spell.
Yet I half hate her. She has all
That would ensure an angel's fall -
But there's a cool collected look,
As if her pulses beat by book -
A measure'd tone, a cold reply,
A management of voice and eye,
A calm, possess'd, authentic air,
That leaves a doubt of softness there,
'Till - look and worship as I may -
My fever'd thoughts will pass away.
And when she lifts her fringing lashes,
And her dark eye like star-light flashes -
And when she plays her quiet wile
Of that calm look, and measur'd smile,
I go away like one who's heard
In some fine scene the prompter's word,
And make a vow to break her chain,
And keep it - till we meet again.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEE FFGGHH IIJJKKEE LLMMFFHHNN OOPPQQXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11000101 110101001 01110101 11010011 01010101 11111101 11110101 111100101 010011101 11000101 11010111 1111011 11110101 01010101 101100101 11001111 11010111 01111101 11110101 0101011 01110111 1101011 11110101 11110101 11110111 1101111 11010101 11010111 0110101 01001101 01010101 11011101 11010111 11011101 01110110 001111110 01110101 11110101 11011111 0111011 01011101 01111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,487 |
Words | 297 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 6, 8, 10, 8 |
Lines Amount | 42 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 229 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 58 |
Font size:
Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:34 min read
- 5 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"A Portrait." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/56255/a-portrait.>.
Discuss this Nathaniel Parker Willis poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In