Analysis of The Child Of Earth
Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton 1808 (Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Sheridan London) – 1877 (London)
FAINTER her slow step falls from day to day,
Death's hand is heavy on her darkening brow;
Yet doth she fondly cling to earth, and say,
'I am content to die, but, oh! not now!
Not while the blossoms of the joyous spring
Make the warm air such luxury to breathe;
Not while the birds such lays of gladness sing;
Not while bright flowers around my footsteps wreathe.
Spare me, great God, lift up my drooping brow!
I am content to die--but, oh! not now!'
II.
The spring hath ripen'd into summer-time,
The season's viewless boundary is past;
The glorious sun hath reach'd his burning prime;
Oh! must this glimpse of beauty be the last?
'Let me not perish while o'er land and lea
With silent steps the lord of light moves on;
Nor while the murmur of the mountain bee
Greets my dull ear with music in its tone!
Pale sickness dims my eye, and clouds my brow;
I am content to die--but, oh! not now!'
III.
Summer is gone, and autumn's soberer hues
Tint the ripe fruits, and gild the waving corn;
The huntsman swift the flying game pursues,
Shouts the halloo, and winds his eager horn.
'Spare me awhile to wander forth and gaze
On the broad meadows and the quiet stream,
To watch in silence while the evening rays
Slant thro' the fading trees with ruddy gleam!
Cooler the breezes play around my brow;
I am content to die--but, oh! not now!'
IV.
The bleak wind whistles, snow-showers, far and near,
Drift without echo to the whitening ground;
Autumn hath pass'd away, and, cold and drear,
Winter stalks on, with frozen mantle bound.
Yet still that prayer ascends:--'Oh! laughingly
My little brothers round the warm hearth crowd,
Our home-fire blazes broad, and bright, and high,
And the roof rings with voices glad and loud;
Spare me awhile! raise up my drooping brow!
I am content to die--but, oh! not now!'
V.
The spring is come again--the joyful spring!
Again the banks with clustering flowers are spread;
The wild bird dips upon its wanton wing:--
The child of earth is number'd with the dead!
'Thee never more the sunshine shall awake,
Beaming all redly thro' the lattice-pane;
The steps of friends thy slumbers may not break,
Nor fond familiar voice arouse again!
Death's silent shadow veils thy darken'd brow;
Why didst thou linger?--thou art happier now!'
Scheme | ababcdcdbBe fgfghxhxbBe ijijklklbBm xnbnhomobBh cpcpqxqxbb |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1001111111 11110101001 1111011101 1110111111 1101010101 1011110011 110111111 1111001111 1111111101 1110111111 1 0111001101 010110011 01001111101 1111110101 11110110101 1101011111 1101010101 1111110011 1101110111 1110111111 1 101101011 1011010101 0101010101 101011101 1101110101 101100101 1101010101 1101011101 1001010111 1110111111 1 01110110101 10110101001 1011010101 1011110101 1111011100 1101010111 101101010101 0011110101 1101111101 1110111111 1 0111010101 010111001011 0111011101 0111110101 110101101 101110101 011111111 1101010101 110111101 11110111001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,256 |
Words | 410 |
Sentences | 32 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 11, 11, 11, 11, 10 |
Lines Amount | 54 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 347 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 80 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:04 min read
- 132 Views
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"The Child Of Earth" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/4779/the-child-of-earth>.
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