Analysis of The Monk
Edith Nesbit 1858 (Kennington, Surrey ) – 1924 (New Romney, Kent)
WHEN in my narrow cell I lie,
The long day's penance done at last,
I see the ghosts of days gone by,
And hear the voices of the past.
I see the blue-gray wood-smoke curled
From hearths where life has rhymed to love,
I see the kingdoms of the world--
The glory and the power thereof,
And cry, 'Ah, vainly have I striven!'
And then a voice calls, soft and low:
'Thou gavest My Earth to win My Heaven;
But Heaven-on-Earth thou mayest not know!'
It is not for Thy Heaven, O Lord,
That I renounced Thy pleasant earth--
The ship, the furrow, and the sword--
The dreams of death, the dreams of birth!
Weary of vigil, fast, and prayer,
Weak in my hope and in my faith--
O Christ, for whom this cross I bear,
Meet me beside the gate of Death!
When the night comes, then let me rest
(O Christ, who sanctifiest pain!)
Falling asleep upon Thy breast,
And, if Thou wilt, wake never again!
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IXIX JXJX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (67%) |
Metre | 10110111 01110111 11011111 01010101 11011111 11111111 11010101 01000101 011101110 01011101 111111110 110111111 111111011 11011101 01010001 01110111 10110101 10110011 11111111 11010111 10111111 11111 10010111 011111001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 883 |
Words | 173 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 110 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 51 sec read
- 63 Views
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"The Monk" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/8987/the-monk>.
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