Analysis of The Awakening

James Weldon Johnson 1871 (Jacksonville) – 1938 (Wiscasset)



I dreamed that I was a rose
That grew beside a lonely way,
Close by a path none ever chose,
And there I lingered day by day.
Beneath the sunshine and the show'r
I grew and waited there apart,
Gathering perfume hour by hour,
And storing it within my heart,
Yet, never knew,
Just why I waited there and grew.

I dreamed that you were a bee
That one day gaily flew along,
You came across the hedge to me,
And sang a soft, love-burdened song.
You brushed my petals with a kiss,
I woke to gladness with a start,
And yielded up to you in bliss
The treasured fragrance of my heart;
And then I knew
That I had waited there for you.


Scheme ABABXCXCDD EFEFGCGCDD
Poetic Form Tetractys  (30%)
Etheree  (25%)
Metre 1111101 11010101 11011101 01110111 01010011 11010101 1000110110 01010111 1101 11110101 1111001 11110101 11010111 01011101 11110101 1111101 01011101 01010111 0111 11110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 611
Words 126
Sentences 5
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 10, 10
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 240
Words per stanza (avg) 62
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 31, 2023

38 sec read
131

James Weldon Johnson

James Weldon Johnson was an American author, educator, lawyer, diplomat, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. Johnson is best remembered for his leadership within the NAACP as well as for his writing, which includes novels, poems, and anthologies. He was also the first African-American professor at New York University. Later in life he was a professor of creative literature and writing at Fisk University. more…

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