Analysis of Lady button-eyes

Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)



When the busy day is done,
And my weary little one
Rocketh gently to and fro;
When the night winds softly blow,
And the crickets in the glen
Chirp and chirp and chirp again;
When upon the haunted green
Fairies dance around their queen -
Then from yonder misty skies
Cometh Lady Button-Eyes.

Through the murk and mist and gloam
To our quiet, cozy home,
Where to singing, sweet and low,
Rocks a cradle to and fro;
Where the clock's dull monotone
Telleth of the day that's done;
Where the moonbeams hover o'er
Playthings sleeping on the floor -
Where my weary wee one lies
Cometh Lady Button-Eyes.

Cometh like a fleeting ghost
From some distant eerie coast;
Never footfall can you hear
As that spirit fareth near -
Never whisper, never word
From that shadow-queen is heard.
In ethereal raiment dight,
From the realm of fay and sprite
In the depth of yonder skies
Cometh Lady Button-Eyes.

Layeth she her hands upon
My dear weary little one,
And those white hands overspread
Like a veil the curly head,
Seem to fondle and caress
Every little silken tress;
Then she smooths the eyelids down
Over those two eyes of brown -
In such soothing, tender wise
Cometh Lady Button-Eyes.

Dearest, feel upon your brow
That caressing magic now;
For the crickets in the glen
Chirp and chirp and chirp again,
While upon the haunted green
Fairies dance around their queen,
And the moonbeams hover o'er
Playthings sleeping on the floor -
Hush, my sweet! from yonder skies
Cometh Lady Button-Eyes!


Scheme aabbcCdDeE ffbbxagHeE iixxjjixeE xaixkklleE mmcCdDgHeE
Poetic Form Etheree  (28%)
Metre 1010111 0110101 110101 1011101 0010001 1010101 1010101 1010111 1110101 1010101 1010101 11010101 1110101 1010101 101110 110111 1011010 110101 1110111 1010101 1010101 1110101 101111 111011 1010101 111111 0010011 1011101 0011101 1010101 110101 1110101 01111 1010101 1110001 10010101 111011 1011111 0110101 1010101 1010111 1010101 1010001 1010101 1010101 1010111 0011010 110101 1111101 1010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,432
Words 262
Sentences 8
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
Lines Amount 50
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 234
Words per stanza (avg) 52
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 20, 2023

1:19 min read
378

Eugene Field

Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. more…

All Eugene Field poems | Eugene Field Books

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