Analysis of The Touchstone
Edith Nesbit 1858 (Kennington, Surrey ) – 1924 (New Romney, Kent)
There was a garden, very strange and fair
With all the roses summer never brings.
The snowy blossom of immortal Springs
Lighted its boughs, and I, even I, was there.
There were new heavens, and the earth was new,
And still I told my heart the dream was true.
But when the sun stood still, and Time went out
Like a blown candle--when she came to me
Under the bride-veil of the blossomed tree,
Chill through the garden blew the winds of doubt,
And when, with starry eyes, and lips too near,
She leaned to me, my heart knew what to fear.
'It is no dream,' she said. 'What dream had stayed
So long? It is the blessed isle that lies
Between the tides of twin eternities.
It is our island; do not be afraid!'
Then, then at last my heart was well deceived;
I hid my eyes; I trembled and believed.
Her real presence sanctified my faith,
Her very voice my restless fears beguiled,
And it was Life that clasped me when she smiled,
But when she said 'I love you!' it was Death.
That, that at least could neither be nor seem -
Oh, then, indeed, I knew it was a dream!
Scheme | ABBACC DEEDFF GXBGHH XIIXJJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101010101 1101010101 0101010101 10110110111 1011000111 0111110111 1101110111 1011011111 1001110101 1101010111 0111010111 1111111111 1111111111 111101111 0101111 11101011101 1111111101 1111110001 0110111 0101110101 0111111111 1111111111 1111110111 1101111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,040 |
Words | 209 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 201 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 51 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:01 min read
- 44 Views
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"The Touchstone" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/9017/the-touchstone>.
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