Analysis of To a Lock of Hair
Sir Walter Scott 1771 (College Wynd, Edinburgh) – 1832 (Abbotsford, Roxburghshire)
Thy hue, dear pledge, is pure and bright
As in that well - remember'd night
When first thy mystic braid was wove,
And first my Agnes whisper'd love.
Since then how often hast thou prest
The torrid zone of this wild breast,
Whose wrath and hate have sworn to dwell
With the first sin that peopled hell;
A breast whose blood's a troubled ocean,
Each throb the earthquake's wild commotion!
O if such clime thou canst endure
Yet keep thy hue unstain'd and pure,
What conquest o'er each erring thought
Of that fierce realm had Agnes wrought!
I had not wander'd far and wide
With such an angel for my guide;
Nor heaven nor earth could then reprove me
If she had lived and lived to love me.
Not then this world's wild joys had been
To me one savage hunting scene,
My sole delight the headlong race
And frantic hurry of the chase;
To start, pursue, and bring to bay,
Rush in, drag down, and rend my prey,
Then - from the carcass turn away!
Mine ireful mood had sweetness tamed,
And soothed each wound which pride inflamed: -
Yes, God and man might now approve me
If thou hadst lived and lived to love me!
Scheme | AAXX BBCCDDEEFFGGHH XXIIJJJKKHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111101 10110101 11110111 01110101 11110111 01011111 11011111 10111101 011101010 11011010 11111101 11110101 110101101 11111101 11110101 11110111 110111111 111101111 11111111 11110101 1101011 01010101 11010111 10110111 11010101 1111101 01111101 110111011 111101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,076 |
Words | 209 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 14, 11 |
Lines Amount | 29 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 285 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 69 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:05 min read
- 134 Views
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