Analysis of Lily-Bell and Thistledown Song I

Louisa May Alcott 1832 – 1888



Awake! Awake! for the earliest gleam
Of golden sunlight shines
On the rippling waves, that brightly flow
Beneath the flowering vines.
Awake! Awake! for the low, sweet chant
Of the wild-birds' morning hymn
Comes floating by on the fragrant air,
Through the forest cool and dim;
Then spread each wing,
And work, and sing,
Through the long, bright sunny hours;
O'er the pleasant earth
We journey forth,
For a day among the flowers.

Awake! Awake! for the summer wind
Hath bidden the blossoms unclose,
Hath opened the violet's soft blue eye,
And awakened the sleeping rose.
And lightly they wave on their slender stems
Fragrant, and fresh, and fair,
Waiting for us, as we singing come
To gather our honey-dew there.
Then spread each wing,
And work, and sing,
Through the long, bright sunny hours;
O'er the pleasant earth
We journey forth,
For a day among the flowers.


Scheme xaxaxbcbDDEFGE xaxxxcxcDDEFGE
Poetic Form
Metre 0101101001 11011 1010011101 0101001 010110111 1011101 110110101 1010101 1111 0101 10111010 100101 1101 10101010 010110101 1100101 11001111 00100101 0101111101 100101 101111101 110101011 1111 0101 10111010 100101 1101 10101010
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 870
Words 150
Sentences 12
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 14, 14
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 338
Words per stanza (avg) 74
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 28, 2023

45 sec read
73

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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