Analysis of The Snow Fairy
Claude McKay 1889 (Clarendon Parish) – 1948 (Chicago)
Throughout the afternoon I watched them there,
Snow-fairies falling, falling from the sky,
Whirling fantastic in the misty air,
Contending fierce for space supremacy.
And they flew down a mightier force at night,
As though in heaven there was revolt and riot,
And they, frail things had taken panic flight
Down to the calm earth seeking peace and quiet.
I went to bed and rose at early dawn
To see them huddled together in a heap,
Each merged into the other upon the lawn,
Worn out by the sharp struggle, fast asleep.
The sun shone brightly on them half the day,
By night they stealthily had stol'n away.
And suddenly my thoughts then turned to you
Who came to me upon a winter's night,
When snow-sprites round my attic window flew,
Your hair disheveled, eyes aglow with light.
My heart was like the weather when you came,
The wanton winds were blowing loud and long;
But you, with joy and passion all aflame,
You danced and sang a lilting summer song.
I made room for you in my little bed,
Took covers from the closet fresh and warm,
A downful pillow for your scented head,
And lay down with you resting in my arm.
You went with Dawn. You left me ere the day,
The lonely actor of a dreamy play.
Scheme | AXAXBCBCDEDEFF GBGBHIHIJXJXFF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 010011111 1101010101 1001000101 0101110100 01110100111 110101101010 0111110101 11011101010 1111011101 11110010001 11010100101 1110110101 0111011101 111111101 0100111111 1111010101 1111110101 1101010111 1111010111 0101010101 1111010101 110101101 1111101101 1101010101 011011101 0111110011 1111111101 0101010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,208 |
Words | 225 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 14, 14 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 470 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 111 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 27, 2023
- 1:08 min read
- 152 Views
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