Analysis of The Grave. From The Anglo-Saxon
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 (Portland) – 1882 (Cambridge)
For thee was a house built
Ere thou wast born,
For thee was a mould meant
Ere thou of mother camest.
But it is not made ready,
Nor its depth measured,
Nor is it seen
How long it shall be.
Now I bring thee
Where thou shalt be;
Now I shall measure thee,
And the mould afterwards.
Thy house is not
Highly timbered,
It is unhigh and low;
When thou art therein,
The heel-ways are low,
The side-ways unhigh.
The roof is built
Thy breast full nigh,
So thou shalt in mould
Dwell full cold,
Dimly and dark.
Doorless is that house,
And dark it is within;
There thou art fast detained
And Death hath the key.
Loathsome is that earth-house,
And grim within to dwell.
There thou shalt dwell,
And worms shall divide thee.
Thus thou art laid,
And leavest thy friends
Thou hast no friend,
Who will come to thee,
Who will ever see
How that house pleaseth thee;
Who will ever open
The door for thee,
And descend for thee;
For soon thou art loathsome
And hateful to see.
Scheme | AXXABXXBBBBX XACDCEAEFFX GDXBGHHB XXXBBBXBBXB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111011 1111 111011 111101 1111110 11110 1111 11111 1111 1111 111101 001100 1111 101 11101 11101 01111 0111 0111 1111 11101 111 1001 1111 011101 111101 01101 101111 010111 1111 011011 1111 0111 1111 11111 11101 11111 111010 0111 00111 111110 01011 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 918 |
Words | 184 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 11, 8, 11 |
Lines Amount | 42 |
Letters per line (avg) | 18 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 184 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 46 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 21, 2023
- 55 sec read
- 108 Views
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"The Grave. From The Anglo-Saxon" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18870/the-grave.-from-the-anglo-saxon>.
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