Analysis of The Tryst
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
Just when all hope had perished in my soul,
And balked desire made havoc with my mind,
My cruel Ladye suddenly grew kind,
And sent those gracious words upon a scroll:
“When knowing Night her dusky scarf has tied
Across the bold, intrusive eyes of day,
Come as a glad, triumphant lover may,
No longer fearing that he be denied.”
I read her letter for the hundredth time,
And for the hundredth time my gladdened sight
Blurred with the rapture of my vast delight,
And swooned upon the page. I caught the chime
Of far off bells, and at each silver note
My heart on tiptoe pressed its eager ear
Against my breast; it was such a joy to hear
The tolling of the hour of which she wrote.
The curious day still lingered in the skies
And watched me as I hastened to the tryst.
And back, beyond great clouds of amethyst,
I saw Night’s soft, reassuring eyes.
“Oh, Night, ” I cried, “dear Love’s considerate friend,
Haste from the far, dim valleys of the west,
Rock the sad striving earth to quiet rest,
And bid the day’s insistent vigil end.”
Down brooding streets, and past the harboured ships
The Night’s young handmaid, Twilight, walked with me.
A spent moon leaned inertly o’er the sea;
A few, pale, phantom stars were in eclipse.
There was the house, My Ladye’s sea-girt bower
All draped in gloom, save for one taper’s glow,
Which lit the path, where willing feet would go.
There was the house, and this the promised hour.
The tide was out; and from the sea’s salt path
Rose amorous odours, filtering through the night
And stirring all the senses with delight;
Sweet perfumes left since Aphrodite’s bath.
Back in the wooded copse, a whip-poor-will
Gave love’s impassioned and impatient call.
On pebbled sands I heard the waves kiss fall,
And fall again, so hushed the hour and still.
Light was my knock upon the door, so light,
And yet the sound seemed rude. My pulses beat
So loud they drowned out the coming of her feet
The arrow of her taper pierced the gloom –
The portal closed behind me. She was there –
Love on her lips and yielding in her eyes
And but the sea to hear our vows and sighs.
She took my hand and led me up the stair.
Scheme | ABBACDDC EFFEGHHG IJJIKLLK MNNMOPPO QFFQRSSR FTTXUIIU |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111110011 01010110111 110110011 0111010101 110101111 0101010111 1101010101 1101011101 1101010101 010101111 1101011101 0101011101 1111011101 111111101 01111110111 01010101111 01001110001 0111110101 0101111100 11110101 11111101001 1101110101 1011011101 0101010101 110101011 01111111 01111101 0111010001 1101111110 1101111101 1101110111 11010101010 0111010111 11001100101 0101010101 101110101 1001010111 1101000101 111110111 01011101001 1111010111 0101111101 11111010101 0101010101 0101011111 1101010001 01011110101 1111011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,146 |
Words | 399 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 276 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 66 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:59 min read
- 29 Views
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"The Tryst" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10917/the-tryst>.
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