Analysis of Sonnet XXIV: 'Farewell once more,--and yet again farewell!'

George Henry Boker 1823 (Philadelphia) – 1890 (Philadelphia)



Farewell once more,--and yet again farewell!
I cannot quit thee. On thy lips I press
A parting kiss. I cease from my caress;
Slowly I loose thy waist; the troubled swell
Of thy fair bosom, with the sighs that tell
Thy own emotion, falls from me. I bless
Thy downcast head; upon each lustrous tress
Rest my poor hands, as if some sacred spell
Were in my benediction. Then I try
A sudden parting. Ah! how whirls my brain!
How pang crowds pang; how pain leaps over pain!
My purpose falters; o'er my senses fly
Oblivious clouds; and then--I know not why--
Lo! I am hanging on thy lips again!


Scheme ABBAABBACDDCCE
Poetic Form
Metre 11101011 1101111111 0101111101 1011110101 1111010111 1101011111 111011101 1111111101 001010111 0101011111 1111111101 11010101101 01001011111 1111011101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 595
Words 113
Sentences 12
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 450
Words per stanza (avg) 110
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

34 sec read
94

George Henry Boker

George Henry Boker was an American poet, playwright, and diplomat. more…

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