Analysis of In a London Square

Arthur Hugh Clough 1819 (Liverpool) – 1861 (Florence)



Put forth thy leaf, thou lofty plane,
East wind and frost are safely gone;
With zephyr mild and balmy rain
The summer comes serenly on;
Earth, air, and sun and skies combine
To promise all that's kind and fair: -
But thou, O human heart of mine,
Be still, contain thyself, and bear.

December days were brief and chill,
The winds of March were wild and drear,
And, nearing and receding still,
Spring never would, we thought, be here.
The leaves that burst, the suns that shine,
Had, not the less, their certain date: -
And thou, O human heart of mine,
Be still, refrain thyself, and wait.


Scheme AXAXBCBC DCDXBEBE
Poetic Form
Metre 11111101 11011101 11010101 010111 11010110 11011101 11110111 1101101 01010101 01110101 01000101 11011111 01110111 11011101 01110111 1101101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 582
Words 110
Sentences 4
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 224
Words per stanza (avg) 54
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
66

Arthur Hugh Clough

Arthur Hugh Clough was an English poet, an educationalist, and the devoted assistant to ground-breaking nurse Florence Nightingale. more…

All Arthur Hugh Clough poems | Arthur Hugh Clough Books

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