Analysis of Chains Invisible

Edith Nesbit 1858 (Kennington, Surrey ) – 1924 (New Romney, Kent)



THE lilies in my garden grow,
Wide meadows ring my garden round,
In that green copse wild violets blow,
And pale, frail cuckoo flowers are found.
For all you see and all you hear,
The city might be miles away,
And yet you feel the city near
Through all the quiet of the day.

Sweet smells the earth--wet with sweet rain--
Sweet lilac waves in moonlight pale,
And from the wood beyond the lane
I hear the hidden nightingale.
Though field and wood about me lie,
Hushed soft in dew and deep delight,
Yet can I hear the city's sigh
Through all the silence of the night.

For me the skylark builds and sings,
For me the vine her garland weaves;
The swallow folds her glossy wings
To build beneath my cottage eaves.
But I can feel the giant near,
Can hear his slaves by daylight weep,
And when at last the night is here,
I hear him moaning in his sleep.

Oh! for a little space of ground,
Though not a flower should make it gay,
Where miles of meadows wrapped me round,
And leagues and leagues of silence lay.
Oh! for a wind-lashed, treeless down,
A black night and a rising sea,
And never a thought of London town,
To steal the world's delight from me.


Scheme ABABCDED FGFGHIHI JKJKELCL BDBDMNMN
Poetic Form
Metre 01001101 1111101 011111001 01111011 11110111 01011101 01110101 11010101 11011111 111011 01010101 11010100 11010111 11010101 11110101 11010101 1101101 11010101 01010101 11011101 11110101 1111111 01110111 11110011 11010111 110101111 1111111 01011101 11011101 01100101 010011101 11010111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,150
Words 220
Sentences 11
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 222
Words per stanza (avg) 55
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:06 min read
59

Edith Nesbit

Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland) was an English author and poet; she published her books for children under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 books of children's literature. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist organisation later affiliated to the Labour Party. more…

All Edith Nesbit poems | Edith Nesbit Books

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