Analysis of My Lady Nature and her Daughters
John Henry Newman 1801 (London) – 1890 (Edgbaston)
Ladies, well I deem, delight
In comely tire to move;
Soft, and delicate, and bright,
Are the robes they love.
Silks, where hues alternate play,
Shawls, and scarfs, and mantles gay,
Gold, and gems, and crispèd hair,
Fling their light o'er lady fair.
'Tis not waste, nor sinful pride,
—Name them not, nor fault beside,—
But her very cheerfulness
Prompts and weaves the curious dress;
While her holy thoughts still roam
Mid birth-friends and scenes of home.
Pleased to please whose praise is dear,
Glitters she? she glitters there;—
And she has a pattern found her
In Nature's glowing world around her.
Nature loves, as lady bright,
In gayest guise to shine,
All forms of grace, all tints of light,
Fringe her robe divine.
Sun-lit heaven, and rain-bow cloud,
Changeful main, and mountain proud,
Branching tree, and meadow green,
All are deck'd in broider'd sheen.
Not a bird on bough-propp'd tower,
Insect slim, nor tiny flower,
Stone, nor spar, nor shell of sea,
But is fair in its degree.
'Tis not pride, this vaunt of beauty;
Well she 'quits her trust of duty;
And, amid her gorgeous state,
Bright, and bland, and delicate,
Ever beaming from her face
Praise of a Father's love we trace.
Ladies, shrinking from the view
Of the prying day,
In tranquil diligence pursue
Their heaven-appointed way.
Noiseless duties, silent cares,
Mercies lighting unawares,
Modest influence working good,
Gifts, by the keen heart understood,
Such as viewless spirits might give,
These they love, in these they live.—
Mighty Nature speeds her through
Her daily toils in silence too:
Calmly rolls her giant spheres,
Sheds by stealth her dew's kind tears;
Cheating sage's vex'd pursuit,
Churns the sap, matures the fruit,
And, her deft hand still concealing,
Kindles motion, life, and feeling.
Ladies love to laugh and sing,
To rouse the chord's full sound,
Or to join the festive ring
Where dancers gather round.
Not a sight so fair on earth,
As a lady's graceful mirth;
Not a sound so chasing pain,
As a lady's thrilling strain.—
Nor is Nature left behind
In her lighter moods of mind;
Calm her duties to fulfil,
In her glee a prattler still.
Bird and beast of every sort
Hath its antic and its sport;
Chattering brook, and dancing gnat,
Subtle cry of evening bat,
Moss uncouth, and twigs grotesque,
These are Nature's picturesque.
Where the birth of Poesy?
Its fancy and its fire?
Nature's earth, and sea, and sky,
Fervid thoughts inspire.
Where do wealth and power find rest,
When hopes have fail'd, or toil oppress'd?
Parks, and lawns, and deer, and trees,
Nature's work, restore them ease.—
Rare the rich, the gifted rare,—
Where shall work-day souls repair,
Unennobled, unrefined,
From the rude world and unkind?
Who shall friend their lowly lot?
High-born Nature answers not.
Leave her in her starry dome,
Seek we lady-lighted home.
Nature 'mid the spheres bears sway,
Ladies rule where hearts obey.
Scheme | AXAXBBCCDDEEFFXCGG AHAHIIJJGGEKKKXXEE LBEBEEMMXXLLEENNOO OPOPQQRRSSBX TTUUXX EGXXVVEE CCSSWWFFBB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (27%) |
Metre | 1011101 0101011 1010001 10111 1111001 1010101 1010111 11110101 1111101 1111101 10101 10101001 1010111 1110111 1111111 1011101 01101010 010101010 1011101 01111 11111111 10101 11100111 110101 101011 111011 10111110 1111010 1111111 1110101 11111110 11101110 0010101 1010100 1010101 11010111 1010101 10101 01010001 1100101 110101 101001 10100101 1101101 1111011 1110111 1010101 01010101 1010101 1110111 1010101 1010101 00111010 1101010 1011101 110111 1110101 110101 1011111 1010101 1011101 1010101 1110101 0010111 101011 001011 10111001 1110011 10010101 1011101 1110101 1110100 10111 1100110 1010101 10101 11101011 11111101 1010101 1010111 1010101 1111101 101 1011001 1111101 1110101 1000101 1110101 1010111 1011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,902 |
Words | 496 |
Sentences | 27 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 18, 18, 18, 12, 6, 8, 10 |
Lines Amount | 90 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 320 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 70 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:34 min read
- 81 Views
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"My Lady Nature and her Daughters" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23306/my-lady-nature-and-her-daughters>.
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