Analysis of The Henchman
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
My lady walks her morning round,
My lady's page her fleet greyhound,
My lady's hair the fond winds stir,
And all the birds make songs for her.
Her thrushes sing in Rathburn bowers,
And Rathburn side is gay with flowers;
But ne'er like hers, in flower or bird,
Was beauty seen or music heard.
The distance of the stars is hers;
The least of all her worshippers,
The dust beneath her dainty heel,
She knows not that I see or feel.
Oh, proud and calm!-she cannot know
Where'er she goes with her I go;
Oh, cold and fair!-she cannot guess
I kneel to share her hound's caress!
Gay knights beside her hunt and hawk,
I rob their ears of her sweet talk;
Her suitors come from east and west,
I steal her smiles from every guest.
Unheard of her, in loving words,
I greet her with the song of birds;
I reach her with her green-armed bowers,
I kiss her with the lips of flowers.
The hound and I are on her trail,
The wind and I uplift her veil;
As if the calm, cold moon she were,
And I the tide, I follow her.
As unrebuked as they, I share
The license of the sun and air,
And in a common homage hide
My worship from her scorn and pride.
World-wide apart, and yet so near,
I breathe her charmed atmosphere,
Wherein to her my service brings
The reverence due to holy things.
Her maiden pride, her haughty name,
My dumb devotion shall not shame;
The love that no return doth crave
To knightly levels lifts the slave,
No lance have I, in joust or fight,
To splinter in my lady's sight
But, at her feet, how blest were I
For any need of hers to die!
Scheme | AABB CCDD CCEE FFGG HHII JJCC KKBB LLMM NNOO PPQQ RRSS |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 11010101 1101011 11010111 01011110 010101010 010111110 111001011 11011101 01010110 01110100 01010101 11111111 11011101 10111011 11011101 11110101 11010101 11111011 01011101 110111001 01100101 11010111 110101110 110101110 01011101 01011001 11011110 01011100 111111 01010101 00010101 11010101 11010111 110110 01101101 010011101 01010101 11010111 01110111 11010101 11110111 11001101 11011101 11011011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,497 |
Words | 302 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 44 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 107 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 02, 2023
- 1:32 min read
- 96 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Henchman" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23112/the-henchman>.
Discuss this John Greenleaf Whittier poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In