Analysis of The Barrier
Claude McKay 1889 (Clarendon Parish) – 1948 (Chicago)
I must not gaze at them although
Your eyes are dawning day;
I must not watch you as you go
Your sun-illumined way;
I hear but I must never heed
The fascinating note,
Which, fluting like a river reed,
Comes from your trembing throat;
I must not see upon your face
Love's softly glowing spark;
For there's the barrier of race,
You're fair and I am dark.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Traditional rhyme Quatrain |
Metre | 1111111 111101 11111111 110101 11111101 01001 1110101 11111 11110111 110101 11010011 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 359 |
Words | 69 |
Sentences | 2 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 12 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 91 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 31, 2023
- 21 sec read
- 141 Views
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"The Barrier" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6889/the-barrier>.
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