Analysis of To Mary

Charles Wolfe 1791 (Dublin) – 1823



If I had thought thou couldst have died,
I might not weep for thee;
But I forgot, when by thy side,
That thou couldst mortal be:
It never through my mind had past
The time would e'er be o'er,
And I on thee should look my last,
And thou shouldst smile no more!

And still upon that face I look,
And think 'twill smile again;
And still the thought I will not brook,
That I must look in vain.
But when I speak—thou dost not say
What thou ne'er left'st unsaid;
And now I feel, as well I may,
Sweet Mary, thou art dead!

If thou wouldst stay, e'en as thou art,
All cold and all serene—
I still might press thy silent heart,
And where thy smiles have been.
While e'en thy chill, bleak corse I have,
Thou seemest still mine own;
But there—I lay thee in thy grave,
And I am now alone!

I do not think, where'er thou art,
Thou hast forgotten me;
And I, perhaps, may soothe this heart
In thinking too of thee:
Yet there was round thee such a dawn
Of light ne'er seen before,
As fancy never could have drawn,
And never can restore!


Scheme ABABCXCD EXEXFGFG HXHXXIXI HBHBJDJD
Poetic Form
Metre 11111111 111111 11011111 111101 11011111 01110110 01111111 011111 01011111 011101 01011111 111101 11111111 1111101 01111111 110111 111111111 110101 11111101 011111 111111111 11111 11111011 011101 11111011 110101 01011111 010111 11111101 111101 11010111 010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,030
Words 203
Sentences 7
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 193
Words per stanza (avg) 50
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

1:03 min read
124

Charles Wolfe

Charles Wolfe was an Irish poet, chiefly remembered for "The Burial of Sir John Moore at Corunna". more…

All Charles Wolfe poems | Charles Wolfe Books

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