Analysis of St. Agnes' Eve
Alfred Lord Tennyson 1809 – 1892
Deep on the convent-roof the snows
Are sparkling to the moon:
My breath to heaven like vapour goes;
May my soul follow soon!
The shadows of the convent-towers
Slant down the snowy sward,
Still creeping with the creeping hours
That lead me to my Lord:
Make Thou my spirit pure and clear
As are the frosty skies,
Or this first snowdrop of the year
That in my bosom lies.
As these white robes are soil'd and dark,
To yonder shining ground;
As this pale taper's earthly spark,
To yonder argent round;
So shows my soul before the Lamb,
My spirit before Thee;
So in mine earthly house I am,
To that I hope to be.
Break up the heavens, O Lord! and far,
Thro' all yon starlight keen,
Draw me, thy bride, a glittering star,
In raiment white and clean.
He lifts me to the golden doors;
The flashes come and go;
All heaven bursts her starry floors,
And strows her lights below,
And deepens on and up! the gates
Roll back, and far within
For me the Heavenly Bridegroom waits,
To make me pure of sin.
The sabbaths of Eternity,
One sabbath deep and wide--
A light upon the shining sea--
The Bridegroom with his bride!
Scheme | ABABCDCDEFEF GHGHIJIJKLKL MNMNOPOPJQJQ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010101 110101 11110111 111101 01101010 110101 110101010 111111 11110101 110101 1111101 101101 11111101 110101 1111101 110101 11110101 110011 10110111 111111 110101101 11111 111101001 01101 11110101 010101 11010101 010101 01010101 110101 11010011 111111 01010100 110101 01010101 01111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,220 |
Words | 209 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 12, 12 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 285 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 69 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 1:03 min read
- 489 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"St. Agnes' Eve" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1068/st.-agnes%27-eve>.
Discuss this Alfred Lord Tennyson poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In