Analysis of Death
Edith Nesbit 1858 (Kennington, Surrey ) – 1924 (New Romney, Kent)
NEVER again:
No child shall stir the inmost heart of her
And teach her heaven by that first faint stir;
No little lips shall lie against her breast
Save the cold lips that now lie there at rest;
No little voice shall rouse her from her sleep
And bid her wake to pain:
Her sleep is calm and deep,
Call not! refrain.
Close in her arm
As though even death drew back before the face
Of Motherhood in this white stilly place,
The gathered bud lies waxen white and cold,
As ever a flower your winter gardens hold.
She bore the pain, she never wore the crown,
She worked the bitter charm,
But all she won thereby is here laid down
Renounced--for good or harm.
Dream? Feed your soul
With dreams, while we must starve our hearts on clay,
Dream of a glorious white-winged sun-crowned day
When you shall see her once more face to face
Beside Christ's Mother in the blessed place!
But while you dream, they carry her from here,
The black bells toll and toll.
Oh God! if only she cannot see or hear,
Not hear those ghoul-like bells that crowd so near,
Not see that cold clay hole.
Scheme | XAABBCDCD EFFGGHEHE IJJFFKIKXI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1001 111101110 0101011111 1101110101 1011111111 1101110101 010111 011101 1101 1001 11101110101 11001111 010111101 110010110101 1101110101 110101 1111111111 011111 1111 11111110111 11010011111 1111011111 011100011 1111110011 011101 11110110111 1111111111 111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,048 |
Words | 204 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 9, 10 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 278 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 67 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:01 min read
- 72 Views
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"Death" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/8808/death>.
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