The Poetess Of Heptonstall

Alan S Jeeves 1951 (Lancashire)



This high, half-hidden, churchyard
Where coldness and rain find a home
And the nightfall is welcomed at twilight's end.

The lament of the deafened, defining the dusk,
And complecting its blanket, a chilled shielding shroud ~
A poet lies sleeping alone in her cot.

But verses are silently wrested away
Brilliantly noiseless not rhyming nor free:
And how the wind whistles here all about.

Then, strangely, disturbing the shadowless eve
A voice, a beseeching, may softly be heard.
O' Sylvia, Sylvia, why for art thou here?

About this poem

Poet Sylvia Plath reposes not too far from the authors home in West Yorkshire, England. The village of Heptostall is where she sleeps, the one time home of her husband, once Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. Written in free verse tercets as he might have done

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted by AlanSJeeves on July 20, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

26 sec read
4

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXX XXX XXX XXX
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 508
Words 86
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 3, 3, 3, 3

Alan S Jeeves

Alan S Jeeves is a Lancashire (England) born, Yorkshire based classical poet. more…

All Alan S Jeeves poems | Alan S Jeeves Books

3 fans

Discuss the poem The Poetess Of Heptonstall with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Poetess Of Heptonstall" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 7 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/105387/the-poetess-of-heptonstall>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    May 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    24
    days
    23
    hours
    11
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Sestina is made up of how many lines?
    A 6
    B 39
    C 28
    D 36