Analysis of Sonnet LII.

Charlotte Smith 1749 (London) – 1806 (Tilford, Surrey)



FAULTERING and sad the unhappy pilgrim roves,
Who, on the eve of bleak December's night,
Divided far from all he fondly loves,
Journeys alone, along the giddy height
Of these steep cliffs, and as the sun's last ray
Fades in the West, sees, from the rocky verge,
Dark tempests scowling o'er the shortened day,
And hears, with ear appall'd, the impetuous surge
Beneath him thunder!--So, with heart oppress'd,
Alone, reluctant, desolate, and slow,
By Friendship's cheering radiance now unblest,
Along life's rudest path I seem to go;
Nor see where yet the anxious heart may rest,
That, trembling at the past--recoils from future woe.


Scheme ABABCDCDEFBFEF
Poetic Form
Metre 1010010101 1101110101 0101111101 1001010101 1111010111 1001110101 1110100101 01110100101 0111011101 0101010001 111010011 0111011111 1111010111 1100101011101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 625
Words 107
Sentences 3
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 492
Words per stanza (avg) 104
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

34 sec read
75

Charlotte Smith

Charlotte Turner Smith was an English Romantic poet and novelist. She initiated a revival of the English sonnet, helped establish the conventions of Gothic fiction, and wrote political novels of sensibility. A successful writer, she published ten novels, three books of poetry, four children's books, and other assorted works over the course of her career. She saw herself as a poet first and foremost, poetry at that period being considered the most exalted form of literature. Scholars now credit her with transforming the sonnet into an expression of woeful sentiment. more…

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