Sonnet I
Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806 (Kelloe) – 1861 (Florence)
I thought once how Theocritus had sung
Of the sweet years, the dear and wished-for years,
Who each one in a gracious hand appears
To bear a gift for mortals, old or young:
And, as I mused it in his antique tongue,
I saw, in gradual vision through my tears,
The sweet, sad years, the melancholy years,
Those of my own life, who by turns had flung
A shadow across me. Straightway I was 'ware,
So weeping, how a mystic Shape did move
Behind me, and drew me backward by the hair:
And a voice said in mastery, while I strove,--
'Guess now who holds thee ? '--' Death,' I said. But, there,
The silver answer rang,--' Not Death, but Love.'
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 37 sec read
- 130 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBAACBADEDFDG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 627 |
Words | 126 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
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"Sonnet I" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/10295/sonnet-i>.
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