Analysis of The Rainy Day

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 (Portland) – 1882 (Cambridge)



Written at the old home in Portland

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains,and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains,and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart, and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.


Scheme x aAbba aAcca ddbba
Poetic Form
Metre 101011010 011101010 110111010 01111011 1110010111 00111010 111101010 110111010 11111011 1011111001 00111010 1111011 0101101110 111010111 01111111 11111010
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 636
Words 126
Sentences 4
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 1, 5, 5, 5
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 121
Words per stanza (avg) 31
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

37 sec read
395

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline. more…

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