Analysis of The Lover’s Song
Alfred Austin 1835 (Leeds) – 1913 (Ashford)
When Winter hoar no longer holds
The young year in his gripe,
And bleating voices fill the folds,
And blackbirds pair and pipe;
Then coax the maiden where the sap
Awakes the woodlands drear,
And pour sweet wildflowers in her lap,
And sweet words in her ear.
For Springtime is the season, sure,
Since Love's game first was played,
When tender thoughts begin to lure
The heart of April maid,
Of maid,
The heart of April maid.
When June is wreathed with wilding rose,
And all the buds are blown,
And O, 'tis joy to dream and doze
In meadows newly mown;
Then take her where the graylings leap,
And where the dabchick dives,
Or where the bees in clover reap
The harvest for their hives.
For Summer is the season when,
If you but know the way,
A maid that's kissed will kiss again,
Then pelt you with the hay,
The hay,
Then pelt you with the hay.
When sickles ply among the wheat,
Then trundle home the sheaves,
And there's a rustling of the feet
Through early-fallen leaves;
Entice her where the orchard glows
With apples plump and tart,
And tell her plain the thing she knows,
And ask her for her heart.
For Autumn is the season, boy,
To gather what we sow:
If you be bold, she won't be coy,
Nor ever say you no,
Say no,
Nor ever say you no.
When woodmen clear the coppice lands,
And arch the hornbeam drive,
And stamp their feet, and chafe their hands,
To keep their blood alive;
Then lead her where, when vows are heard,
The church-bells peal and swing,
And, as the parson speaks the word,
Then on her clap the ring.
For Winter is a cheerless time
To live and lie alone;
But what to him is snow or rime,
Who calls his love his own,
His own,
Who calls his love his own?
Scheme | ababcdcddedEeE fgfghihijkjKkK lmlmfnfnoxoPpP qrqrststuguGgG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011101 011011 0110101 010101 11010101 1011 0111001 011001 1110101 111111 11010111 011101 11 011101 11111101 010111 01111101 01101 1101011 010101 11010101 010111 11010101 111101 01111101 111101 01 111101 11010101 110101 01010101 110101 01010101 110101 01010111 010101 11010101 110111 11111111 110111 11 110111 111011 01011 01110111 111101 11011111 011101 01010101 110101 1101011 110101 11111111 111111 11 111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,619 |
Words | 321 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 14, 14, 14, 14 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 322 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 80 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:37 min read
- 102 Views
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"The Lover’s Song" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/812/the-lover%E2%80%99s-song>.
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