Analysis of Valentine--To Lizzie Siddal
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828 (London) – 1882 (Birchington-on-Sea)
YESTERDAY was St. Valentine.
Thought you at all, dear dove divine,
Upon the beard in sorry trim
And rueful countenance of him,
That Orson who's your Valentine?
He daubed, you know, as usual.
The stick would slip, the brush would fall:
Yet daubed he till the lamplighter
Set those two seedy flames astir;
But growled all day at slow St. Paul.
The bore was heard ere noon; the dun
Was at the door by half—past one:
At least 'tis thought so, but the clock—
No Lizzy there to help its stroke—
Struck work before the day begun.
At length he saw St. Paul's bright orb
Flash back—the serried tide absorb
That burning West which it sucked up,
Like wine poured in a water cup;—
And one more twilight toned his daub.
Some time over the fire he sat,
So lonely that he missed his cat;
Then wildly rushed to dine on tick,—
Nine minutes swearing for his stick,
And thirteen minutes for his hat.
And now another day is gone:
Once more that intellectual one
Desists from high—minded pursuits,
And hungry, staring at his boots,
Has not the strength to pull them on.
Come back, dear Liz, and looking wise
In that arm—chair which suits your size
Through some fresh drawing scrape a hole.
Your Valentine & Orson's soul
Is sad for those two friendly eyes.
Scheme | AABBACDEEDFFGHFIIJJKLLMMLNFOOPQQRRQ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 101110 11111101 01010101 01010011 1101110 11111100 01110111 1111010 1111011 11111111 01111101 11011111 11111101 11011111 11010101 11111111 1101101 11011111 11100101 0111111 111001011 11011111 11011111 11010111 01110111 01010111 11101001 1111001 01010111 11011111 11110101 01111111 11110101 11011 11111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,250 |
Words | 230 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 35 |
Lines Amount | 35 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 960 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 226 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 12, 2023
- 1:09 min read
- 74 Views
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"Valentine--To Lizzie Siddal" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/7781/valentine--to-lizzie-siddal>.
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