Analysis of The Silver Box
Old tales of valour fire our blood
But this, the bravest deed I know
Is written of our modern times,
No myth of long ago.
It was a convent grim and grey,
Whose vine-clad balconies looked down
On stately old Colonial homes
Of a fair Southern town.
And daughters of those grand old homes
Dwelt, humble Nuns, within its shade,
Serving their Lord with zealous hearts,
Joyous and unafraid.
From the dear Rectress, staid and old
To the small novice whose sweet eyes
Held the soft blue of Mary’s cloak
Or flowers of Paradise.
Peaceful and holy ran their lives
Hallowed by sacrifice and prayer,
Until one summer day did come
A fateful message there.
A letter from a brave young Priest,
The Rectress’ nephew, who, long while
Had toiled alone ‘mid leper folk
In a West Indian Isle.
The horrors of that festering hell
He told Ah! There were women there
Deep sunk in suffering and in sin
Who needed women’s care.
The good Nun read with blanching face,
And well her wisdom could divine
The cry for help he dared not ask
The breathed in every line.
She could not bid her daughters loved
Such awful sacrifice to make;
But should one feel impelled to give
Her life, for Jesus sake,
“I’ll place.” She said. “this silver box,
Before the chapel alter where
Such one may place her name therein
In quiet and secret there.”
The convent was a silent place
For all that long, long summer day,
Though in the garden old, the bees
Hummed round nasturtiums gay.
But tasks were done and prayers were said
In thoughtful silence, faithfully
The merry little novice e’en,
Went slowly and solemnly.
A thing of fate, the little box
Lay bright upon the alter stair,
The silver lamp before Our Lord
Shone on it sparkling there.
Next morn they waited after Mass
To hear the chaplain grave proclaim
On opening the casket there
If it held any name.
And in the rear a little group
Off anxious fathers, mothers pale,
Who knew the story of the box
Waited to hear the tale.
Oh! Wondrous faith of Peter’s fold
That can such fruitage bear-
The little box was very full
No name was missing there.
From the dear Rectress staid and old
To the small novice, who bright eyes
Mirrored the blue of Mary’s cloak
Of flowers of Paradise.
Scheme | xaxa bcdc dexe Fghi xjxj xkhk xjlj mnxn xoxo pjlj mbxb xqaq pjxj xrjr xsps fjxj Fghi |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (88%) |
Metre | 111110101 11010111 110110101 111101 11010101 11110011 110101001 101101 01011111 11010111 10111101 10001 1011101 10110111 1011111 110110 10010111 1011001 01110111 010101 01010111 0110111 11011101 0011001 010111001 11110101 110100001 11011 0111111 01010101 01111111 0101001 11110101 1101011 11110111 011101 11111101 01010101 11110101 0100101 01010101 11111101 10010101 1111 11010101 01010100 01010101 1100100 01110101 11010101 010101101 111101 11110101 11010101 11000101 111101 00010101 11010101 11010101 101101 11011101 11111 01011101 111101 1011101 10110111 1001111 110110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,147 |
Words | 402 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 17 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 68 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 101 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:00 min read
- 48 Views
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"The Silver Box" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1524/the-silver-box>.
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