Analysis of The singing in god's acre

Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)



Out yonder in the moonlight, wherein God's Acre lies,
Go angels walking to and fro, singing their lullabies.
Their radiant wings are folded, and their eyes are bended low,
As they sing among the beds whereon the flowers delight to grow,--

"Sleep, oh, sleep!
       The Shepherd guardeth His sheep.
 Fast speedeth the night away,
 Soon cometh the glorious day;
 Sleep, weary ones, while ye may,
       Sleep, oh, sleep!"

The flowers within God's Acre see that fair and wondrous sight,
And hear the angels singing to the sleepers through the night;
And, lo! throughout the hours of day those gentle flowers prolong
The music of the angels in that tender slumber-song,--

"Sleep, oh, sleep!
       The Shepherd loveth His sheep.
 He that guardeth His flock the best
 Hath folded them to His loving breast;
 So sleep ye now, and take your rest,--
       Sleep, oh, sleep!"

From angel and from flower the years have learned that soothing song,
And with its heavenly music speed the days and nights along;
So through all time, whose flight the Shepherd's vigils glorify,
God's Acre slumbereth in the grace of that sweet lullaby,--

"Sleep, oh, sleep!
       The Shepherd loveth His sheep.
 Fast speedeth the night away,
 Soon cometh the glorious day;
 Sleep, weary ones, while ye may,--
       Sleep, oh, sleep!"


Scheme aabb CcDDDC eeff CCgggC ffhh CCDDDC
Poetic Form
Metre 110001011101 1101010110110 110011100111101 111010110100111 111 010111 110101 11001001 1101111 111 010011101110101 01010101010101 0101010111101001 01010100110101 111 010111 1111101 110111101 11110111 111 110011001111101 011100101010101 1111110101010 110100111110 111 010111 110101 11001001 1101111 111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,304
Words 223
Sentences 12
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 6, 4, 6, 4, 6
Lines Amount 30
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 162
Words per stanza (avg) 36
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 18, 2023

1:07 min read
104

Eugene Field

Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. more…

All Eugene Field poems | Eugene Field Books

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