We were very tired, we were very merry—

Question

We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
It was bare and bright, and smelled like a stable—
But we looked into a fire, we leaned across a table,
We lay on a hill-top underneath the moon;
And the whistles kept blowing, and the dawn came soon.

We were very tired, we were very merry—
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry;
And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear,
From a dozen of each we had bought somewhere;
And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold,
And the sun rose dripping, a bucketful of gold.

We were very tired, we were very merry,
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
We hailed, “Good morrow, mother!” to a shawl-covered head,
And bought a morning paper, which neither of us read;
And she wept, “God bless you!” for the apples and pears,
And we gave her all our money but our subway fares.

In what way do the stanzas show the sequence of the speaker's evening with her friend?

Answer 1

The stanzas show the progression of the speaker's evening with her friend from being tired and merry after a night of back and forth on the ferry, to moments of intimacy and connection as they look into a fire and lean across a table, to lying on a hill-top underneath the moon. The stanzas also depict the transition to morning with the whistles blowing, the dawn coming soon, and the sky turning wan and the wind coming cold. The speaker and her friend interact with others, buying fruit and a newspaper, and showing kindness to a shawl-covered woman. The progression of events and emotions in the stanzas captures the highs and lows of a night spent together, from weariness to contentment.