Analysis of The Old Cottagers
John Clare 1793 (Helpston) – 1864 (St Andrew's Hospital)
The little cottage stood alone, the pride
Of solitude surrounded every side.
Bean fields in blossom almost reached the wall;
A garden with its hawthorn hedge was all
The space between.--Green light did pass
Through one small window, where a looking-glass
Placed in the parlour, richly there revealed
A spacious landscape and a blooming field.
The pasture cows that herded on the moor
Printed their footsteps to the very door,
Where little summer flowers with seasons blow
And scarcely gave the eldern leave to grow.
The cuckoo that one listens far away
Sung in the orchard trees for half the day;
And where the robin lives, the village guest,
In the old weedy hedge the leafy nest
Of the coy nightingale was yearly found,
Safe from all eyes as in the loneliest ground;
And little chats that in bean stalks will lie
A nest with cobwebs there will build, and fly
Upon the kidney bean that twines and towers
Up little poles in wreaths of scarlet flowers.
There a lone couple lived, secluded there
From all the world considers joy or care,
Lived to themselves, a long lone journey trod,
And through their Bible talked aloud to God;
While one small close and cow their wants maintained,
But little needing, and but little gained.
Their neighbour's name was peace, with her they went,
With tottering age, and dignified content,
Through a rich length of years and quiet days,
And filled the neighbouring village with their praise.
Scheme | AABBCCDDXXEEFFGGHHIIJJ KKLLMMNNOO |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101010101 1100101001 110101101 010111111 01011111 1111010101 1001010101 010100101 0101110101 101110101 11010101101 010101111 011110101 1001011101 0101010101 0011010101 1011001101 111110011 0101101111 011111101 01010111010 11010111010 1011010101 1101010111 1101011101 0111010111 1111011101 1101001101 111111011 1100101010 1011110101 010110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,400 |
Words | 249 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 22, 10 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 36 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 572 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 123 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 22, 2023
- 1:15 min read
- 105 Views
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