Analysis of Lily-Bell

Louisa May Alcott 1832 – 1888



'Bright shines the summer sun,
Soft is the summer air;
Gayly the wood-birds sing,
Flowers are blooming fair.

'But, deep in the dark, cold rock,
Sadly I dwell,
Longing for thee, dear friend,
Lily-Bell! Lily-Bell!'

'Through sunlight and summer air
I have sought for thee long,
Guided by birds and flowers,
And now by thy song.

'Thistledown! Thistledown!
O'er hill and dell
Hither to comfort thee
Comes Lily-Bell.'


Scheme ABXB XCXC BDXD ACXC
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 110101 110101 10111 101101 1100111 1011 101111 101101 110101 111111 1011010 01111 11 10101 101101 1101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 404
Words 72
Sentences 8
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 20
Words per line (avg) 4
Letters per stanza (avg) 79
Words per stanza (avg) 17
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 21, 2023

21 sec read
352

Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist best known as author of the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. more…

All Louisa May Alcott poems | Louisa May Alcott Books

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