Analysis of Sonnet On An Alpine Night

Dorothy Parker 1893 (Long Branch) – 1967 (New York City)



My hand, a little raised, might press a star-
Where I may look, the frosted peaks are spun,
So shaped before Olympus was begun,
Spanned each to each, now, by a silver bar.
Thus to face Beauty have I traveled far,
But now, as if around my heart were run
Hard, lacing fingers, so I stand undone.
Of all my tears, the bitterest these are.

Who humbly followed Beauty all her ways,
Begging the brambles that her robe had passed,
Crying her name in corridors of stone,
That day shall know his weariedest of days -
When Beauty, still and suppliant at last,
Does not suffice him, once they are alone.


Scheme ABBAABBA CDECDE
Poetic Form Petrarchan sonnet 
Metre 1101011101 1111010111 1101010101 1111110101 1111011101 1111011101 111011101 1111010011 1101010101 1001010111 1001010011 11111111 11010111 1101111101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 587
Words 113
Sentences 5
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 6
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 229
Words per stanza (avg) 56
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 22, 2023

33 sec read
145

Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. more…

All Dorothy Parker poems | Dorothy Parker Books

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