Analysis of Death, that struck when I was most confiding
Emily Jane Brontë 1818 (Thornton) – 1848 (Haworth)
Death! that struck when I was most confiding
In my certain faith of joy to be -
Strike again, Time's withered branch dividing
From the fresh root of Eternity!
Leaves, upon Time's branch, were growing brightly,
Full of sap, and full of silver dew;
Birds beneath its shelter gathered nightly;
Daily round its flowers the wild bees flew.
Sorrow passed, and plucked the golden blossom;
Guilt stripped off the foliage in its pride;
But, within its parent's kindly bosom,
Flowed for ever Life's restoring-tide.
Little mourned I for the parted gladness,
For the vacant nest and silent song -
Hope was there, and laughed me out of sadness;
Whispering, ' Winter will not linger long!'
And, behold! with tenfold increase blessing,
Spring adorned the beauty-burdened spray;
Wind and rain and fervent heat, caressing,
Lavished glory on that second May!
High it rose - no winged grief could sweep it;
Sin was scared to distance with its shine;
Love, and its own life, had power to keep it
From all wrong - from every blight but thine!
Cruel Death! The young leaves droop and languish;
Evening's gentle air may still restore -
No! the morning sunshine mocks my anguish -
Time, for me, must never blossom more!
Strike it down, that other boughs may flourish
Where that perished sapling used to be;
Thus, at least, its mouldering corpse will nourish
That from which it sprung - Eternity.
Scheme | ABAB BCBC DEDE FGFG AHAH IJIJ KLKL KBKB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 1111111010 011011111 1011101010 101110100 1011101010 111011101 1011101010 1011100111 1010101010 111010011 1011101010 111010101 101110101 101010101 1110111110 1001011101 001110110 101010101 1010101010 101011101 111111111 111110111 10111110111 1111100111 1010111010 101011101 101011110 111110101 1111101110 111010111 111111110 111110100 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,355 |
Words | 239 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 135 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 30 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 20, 2023
- 1:12 min read
- 58 Views
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"Death, that struck when I was most confiding" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/12495/death%2C-that-struck-when-i-was-most-confiding>.
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