Analysis of Sonnet XX

Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806 (Kelloe) – 1861 (Florence)



Beloved, my Beloved, when I think
That thou wast in the world a year ago,
What time I sat alone here in the snow
And saw no footprint, heard the silence sink
No moment at thy voice, but, link by link,
Went counting all my chains as if that so
They never could fall off at any blow
Struck by thy possible hand,--why, thus I drink
Of life's great cup of wonder ! Wonderful,
Never to feel thee thrill the day or night
With personal act or speech,--nor ever cull
Some prescience of thee with the blossoms white
Thou sawest growing ! Atheists are as dull,
Who cannot guess God's presence out of sight.


Scheme ABBAABBACDCDCD
Poetic Form
Metre 01101111 1110010101 1111011001 011110101 1101111111 1101111111 1101111101 11110011111 1111110100 1011110111 11001111101 11001110101 1110100111 1101110111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 591
Words 116
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 462
Words per stanza (avg) 114
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
86

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent English poets of the Victorian era. more…

All Elizabeth Barrett Browning poems | Elizabeth Barrett Browning Books

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