Thread: Cold Comfort
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Unread 03-31-2024, 10:39 AM
Carl Copeland Carl Copeland is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by A. Baez View Post
… to my ear, there are lines with a range of numbers of accented syllables each.
I don’t think John cares too much for these quibbles, but by my count about half the lines in the quatrains have an ambiguous number of beats: four if you read them right, but three or five often seem more natural. The couplet is apparently intended to have five-beat lines.

Quote:
Originally Posted by A. Baez View Post
As to your interpretation, oh, I never would have thought that, because to me, "wavering" so strongly connotes the brink of defeat--and melting connotes it even more, no?
I’m conveniently suspending judgment about what the snowbanks are wavering between and treating it as a frozen moment. You’re thinking further than I am, and you may be right.
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