Analysis of Immolation of a Hindoo Widow
Letitia Elizabeth Landon 1802 (Chelsea) – 1838 (Cape Coast)
Gather her raven hair in one rich cluster,
Let the white champac light it, as a star
Gives to the dusky night a sudden lustre,
Shining afar.
Shed fragrant oils upon her fragrant bosom,
Until the breathing air around grows sweet;
Scatter the languid jasmine’s yellow blossom
Beneath her feet.
Those small white feet are bare—too soft are they
To tread on aught but flowers; and there is roll’d
Round the slight ankle, meet for such display,
The band of gold.
Chains and bright stones are on her arms and neck;
What pleasant vanities are linked with them,
Of happy hours, which youth delights to deck
With gold and gem.
She comes! So comes the Moon, when has she found
A silvery path wherein through heaven to glide.
Fling the white veil—a summer cloud—around;
She is a bride!
And yet the crowd that gather at her side
Are pale, and every gazer holds his breath.
Eyes fill with tears unbidden, for the bride—
The bride of Death!
She gives away the garland from her hair,
She gives the gems that she will wear no more;
All the affections, whose love-signs they were,
Are gone before.
The red pile blazes—let the bride ascend,
And lay her head upon her husband’s heart,
Now in a perfect unison to blend—
No more to part.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EDEX FGFG HIHI IJIJ XKAK LMLM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 10010101110 101111101 1101101010 1001 11010101010 0101010111 1001011010 0101 1111111111 11111100111 1011011101 0111 1011110101 1101001111 11010110111 1101 1111011111 010010111011 1011010101 1101 0101110101 1101001111 11111101 0111 1101010101 1101111111 1001011110 1101 0111010101 0101010101 1000110011 1111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,322 |
Words | 265 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 119 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 31 |
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Submitted by Madeleine Quinn on February 15, 2020
Modified by Madeleine Quinn on March 29, 2024
- 1:19 min read
- 659 Views
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"Immolation of a Hindoo Widow" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/52465/immolation-of-a-hindoo-widow>.
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