Analysis of The Death Of Agnes

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



Now that the sunlight dies in my eyes,
And the moonlight grows in my hair,
I who was never very wise,
Never was very fair,
Virgin and martyr all my life,
What has life left to give
Me--who was never mother nor wife,
Never got leave to live?

Nothing of life could I clasp or claim,
Nothing could steal or save.
So when you come to carve my name,
Give me life in my grave.
To keep me warm when I sleep alone
A lie is little to give;
Call me 'Magdalen' on my stone,
Though I died and did not live.


Scheme ABABCDCE FGFGHDHE
Poetic Form
Metre 11011011 0011011 11110101 101101 10010111 111111 111101011 101111 101111111 101111 11111111 111011 111111101 0111011 11100111 1110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 487
Words 104
Sentences 5
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 188
Words per stanza (avg) 51
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

31 sec read
55

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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