Analysis of The Sleep Of Spring
John Clare 1793 (Helpston) – 1864 (St Andrew's Hospital)
O for that sweet, untroubled rest
That poets oft have sung!--
The babe upon its mother's breast,
The bird upon its young,
The heart asleep without a pain--
When shall I know that sleep again?
When shall I be as I have been
Upon my mother's breast
Sweet Nature's garb of verdant green
To woo to perfect rest--
Love in the meadow, field, and glen,
And in my native wilds again?
The sheep within the fallow field,
The herd upon the green,
The larks that in the thistle shield,
And pipe from morn to e'en--
O for the pasture, fields, and fen!
When shall I see such rest again?
I love the weeds along the fen,
More sweet than garden flowers,
For freedom haunts the humble glen
That blest my happiest hours.
Here prison injures health and me:
I love sweet freedom and the free.
The crows upon the swelling hills,
The cows upon the lea,
Sheep feeding by the pasture rills,
Are ever dear to me,
Because sweet freedom is their mate,
While I am lone and desolate.
I loved the winds when I was young,
When life was dear to me;
I loved the song which Nature sung,
Endearing liberty;
I loved the wood, the vale, the stream,
For there my boyhood used to dream.
There even toil itself was play;
Twas pleasure een to weep;
Twas joy to think of dreams by day,
The beautiful of sleep.
When shall I see the wood and plain,
And dream those happy dreams again?
Scheme | ABABCD XAEADD FEFDDD DGDGHH XHGHXX BHBHII JKJKCD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110101 110111 01011101 010111 01010101 11111101 11111111 011101 11011101 111011 1001101 00110101 0101011 010101 01100101 0111111 11010101 11111101 11010101 1111010 11010101 11110010 11010101 11110001 01010101 010101 11010101 110111 01110111 11110100 11011111 111111 11011101 010100 11010101 1111111 11010111 110111 11111111 010011 11110101 01110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,306 |
Words | 257 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 42 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 148 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:18 min read
- 48 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Sleep Of Spring" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22338/the-sleep-of-spring>.
Discuss this John Clare 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