Analysis of When Mother Combed My Hair
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
When Memory, with gentle hand,
Has led me to that foreign land
Of childhood days, I long to be
Again the boy on bended knee,
With head a-bow, and drowsy smile
Hid in a mother's lap the while,
With tender touch and kindly care,
She bends above and combs my hair.
Ere threats of Time, or ghosts of cares
Had paled it to the hue it wears,
Its tangled threads of amber light
Fell o'er a forehead, fair and white,
That only knew the light caress
Of loving hands, or sudden press
Of kisses that were sifted there
The times when mother combed my hair.
But its last gleams of gold have slipped
Away; and Sorrow's manuscript
Is fashioned of the snowy brow--
So lined and underscored now
That you, to see it, scarce would guess
It e'er had felt the fond caress
Of loving lips, or known the care
Of those dear hands that combed my hair.
I am so tired! Let me be
A moment at my mother's knee;
One moment--that I may forget
The trials waiting for me yet:
One moment free from every pain--
O! Mother! Comb my hair again!
And I will, oh, so humbly bow,
For I've a wife that combs it now.
Scheme | AABBCCDD EEFFGGDD HHIIGGDD BBJJXXII |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11001101 11111101 1111111 01011101 11010101 10010101 11010101 11010111 11111111 11110111 11011101 110010101 11010101 11011101 11010101 01110111 11111111 010110 11010101 110011 11111111 110110101 11011101 11111111 11110111 01011101 11011101 01010111 110111001 11011101 01111101 11011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,064 |
Words | 211 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 206 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 52 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 26, 2023
- 1:05 min read
- 151 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"When Mother Combed My Hair" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/21183/when-mother-combed-my-hair>.
Discuss this James Whitcomb Riley poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In