Elinor Wylie
Down to the Puritan Marrow of my bones
There's something in this richness that I hate.
I love the look, austere, immaculate,
Of landscapes drawn in pearly monotones.
There's something in my very blood that owns
Bare hills, cold silver on a sky of slate,
A thread of water, churned to milky spate1
Streaming through slanted pastures fenced with stones.
I love those skies, thin blue or snowy gray,
Those fields sparse-planted, rendering meager sheaves;
That spring, briefer than apple blossom's breath,
Summer, so much too beautiful to stay,
Swift autumn, like a bonfire of leaves,
And sleepy winter, like the sleep of death.
1. Identify the rhyme scheme of the poem
The Rhyme scheme shown in the poem is ABBAABBA for the first 8 lines, and CDECDE for the rest.
2. Complete a scansion on 3 lines of the poem. (Identify line length and meter--like the example from "Shall I Compare thee to a Summer's Day).
Bare hills / cold sil / ver on / a sky / of slate
Of land / scapes drawn / in pear / ly mon / otones.
Streaming / through slan / ted past / ures fenced / with stones.
3. Identify at least 5 images in the poem (Try to find images that appeal to different senses)
Of landscapes drawn in pearly monotones. (Visual)
Those fields sparse-planted, (Visual)
the Puritan Marrow of my bones (Tactical)
treaming through slanted pastures fenced with stones. (Tactical, Auditory)
cold silver on a sky of slate, (Visual)
4. Identify the problem (situation) and solution in the sonnet
The problem is that the speaker does not like color. The solution is to live in winter
5. Define the words austere, immaculate, and sheave
Austere: Severe
Immaculate: Clean, simple
Sheave: To collect or bind, cluster.
6. Identify four sound devices in the poem (assonance, alliteration, consonance)
There's something in this richness that I hate. Assonance
Streaming through slanted pastures fenced with stones. Alliteration
briefer than apple blossom's breath Alliteration
Those fields sparse-planted, rendering meager sheaves; Assonance
7. What is the speaker's attitude toward the New England winter landscape?
His attitude is that he thinks that it is beautiful, and wishes that it would never end.
8. What view of life does the poem present?
It presents the idea that even when the plants are dying, nature can still be beautiful.