Love and a Question
A STRANGER came to the door at eve,And he spoke the bridegroom fair.He bore a green-white stick in his hand,And, for all burden, care.He asked with the eyes more than the lipsFor a shelter for the night,And he turned and looked at the road afarWithout a window light.The bridegroom came forth into the porchWith, 'Let us look at the sky,And question what of the night to be,Stranger, you and I.'The woodbine leaves littered the yard,The woodbine berries were blue,Autumn, yes, winter was in the wind;'Stranger, I wish I knew.'Within, the bride in the dusk aloneBent over the open fire,Her face rose-red with the glowing coalAnd the thought of the heart's desire.The bridegroom looked at the weary road,Yet saw but her within,And wished her heart in a case of goldAnd pinned with a silver pin.The bridegroom thought it little to giveA dole of bread, a purse,A heartfelt prayer for the poor of God,Or for the rich a curse;But whether or not a man was askedTo mar the love of twoBy harboring woe in the bridal house,The bridegroom wished he knew.
Words in this poem
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- bridegroom n.
- A man newly married, or just about to be married. [OE. bridegome, brudgume, AS. br (akin to OS. br, D. bruidegom, bruigom, OHG. pr, MHG. briutegome, G. bräutigam); AS. br bride + guma man, akin to Goth. guma, Ic]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- heartfelt a.
- Hearty; sincere.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Love and a Question is in the public domain. This text is taken from A Boy's Will, Project Gutenberg ebook #3021; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Frost, Love and a Question, in A Boy's Will (1913), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3021, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/frost-boys-will/love-and-a-question.html, id L04622.
Form and metre
Love and a Question is 32 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -A-A-B-B-CCC-D-D-E-E-F-F-G-G-H-H eve · fairA · hand · careA · lips · nightB · afar · lightB · porch · skyC · beC · iC · yard · blueD · wind · knewD · alone · fireE · coal · desireE · road · withinF · gold · pinF · give · purseG · god · curseG · asked · twoH · house · knewH
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| A STRANGER came to the door at eve, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| And he spoke the bridegroom fair. | 7 | ····/·· |
| He bore a green-white stick in his hand, | 9 | ········· |
| And, for all burden, care. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| He asked with the eyes more than the lips | 9 | ········· |
| For a shelter for the night, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And he turned and looked at the road afar | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Without a window light. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The bridegroom came forth into the porch | 9 | ·/······· |
| With, 'Let us look at the sky, | 7 | ······· |
| And question what of the night to be, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Stranger, you and I.' | 5 | /˘··· |
| The woodbine leaves littered the yard, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| The woodbine berries were blue, | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| Autumn, yes, winter was in the wind; | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| 'Stranger, I wish I knew.' | 6 | /˘···· |
| Within, the bride in the dusk alone | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Bent over the open fire, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Her face rose-red with the glowing coal | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And the thought of the heart's desire. | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| The bridegroom looked at the weary road, | 9 | ·/····/˘· |
| Yet saw but her within, | 6 | ······ |
| And wished her heart in a case of gold | 9 | ········· |
| And pinned with a silver pin. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| The bridegroom thought it little to give | 9 | ·/···/˘·· |
| A dole of bread, a purse, | 6 | ······ |
| A heartfelt prayer for the poor of God, | 9 | ·/······· |
| Or for the rich a curse; | 6 | ······ |
| But whether or not a man was asked | 9 | ········· |
| To mar the love of two | 6 | ······ |
| By harboring woe in the bridal house, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| The bridegroom wished he knew. | 6 | ·/···· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.