Analysis of On Summer
George Moses Horton 1779 (North Carolina) – 1883
Esteville fire begins to burn;
The auburn fields of harvest rise;
The torrid flames again return,
And thunders roll along the skies.
Perspiring Cancer lifts his head,
And roars terrific from on high;
Whose voice the timid creatures dread,
From which they strive with awe to fly.
The night-hawk ventures from his cell,
And starts his note in evening air;
He feels the heat his bosom swell,
Which drives away the gloom of fear.
Thou noisy insect, start thy drum;
Rise lamp-like bugs to light the train;
And bid sweet Philomela come,
And sound in front the nightly strain.
The bee begins her ceaseless hum,
And doth with sweet exertions rise;
And with delight she stores her comb,
And well her rising stock supplies.
Let sportive children well beware,
While sprightly frisking o'er the green;
And carefully avoid the snare,
Which lurks beneath the smiling scene.
The mistress bird assumes her nest,
And broods in silence on the tree,
Her note to cease, her wings at rest,
She patient waits her young to see.
The farmer hastens from the heat;
The weary plough-horse droops his head;
The cattle all at noon retreat,
And ruminate beneath the shade.
The burdened ox with dauntless rage,
Flies heedless to the liquid flood,
From which he quaffs, devoid of guage,
Regardless of his driver's rod.
Pomacious orchards now expand
Their laden branches o'er the lea;
And with their bounty fill the land,
While plenty smiles on every tree.
On fertile borders, near the stream,
Now gaze with pleasure and delight;
See loaded vines with melons teem--
'Tis paradise to human sight.
With rapture view the smiling fields,
Adorn the mountain and the plain,
Each, on the eve of Autumn, yields
A large supply of golden grain.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEX GHGH GBXB FIFI JKJK LCLX MXMX NKNK OPOP QHQH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (75%) |
Metre | 1100111 01011101 01010101 01010101 01010111 01010111 11010101 11111111 01110111 01110101 11011101 11010111 1101111 11111101 0110101 01010101 01010101 01110101 01011101 01010101 1110101 11011001 01000101 11010101 01010101 01010101 01110111 11010111 01010101 01011111 01011101 0100101 0101111 1110101 11110111 01011101 110101 110101001 01110101 110111001 11010101 11110001 11011101 1101101 11010101 01010001 11011101 01011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,709 |
Words | 294 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 12 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 113 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 24 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:29 min read
- 147 Views
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"On Summer" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15731/on-summer>.
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