Analysis of Epiphany: (For Dora, 1918)

Katharine Tynan 1861 (Ireland) – 1931



She carried frankincense and gold
When the Star guided her,
And in her folded hands so cold
She carried myrrh.

Frankincense for the praise she owed,
Gold for her gift was meet,
But myrrh because so oft her road
Was bitter-sweet.

Lay her tired body in that earth
Was holy to her mind!
But the bird-soul flies in high mirth,
Borne on the wind.

It tosses in the Irish skies
Awhile, so small and white,
Ere it is gone -- swiftly it flies
Into the light.

She has gone in with the Three Kings,
In silk and miniver;
The gold, the frankincense she brings,
The sharp-sweet myrrh.


Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IBIB
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 1101001 101100 00010111 1101 1010111 110111 11011101 1101 101010011 110101 10111011 1101 11000101 011101 11111011 0101 11101011 0101 0101011 0111
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 559
Words 109
Sentences 7
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 89
Words per stanza (avg) 21
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
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Katharine Tynan

Katharine Tynan was an Irish-born writer, known mainly for her novels and poetry. more…

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