Analysis of In Praise Of England

Alfred Austin 1835 (Leeds) – 1913 (Ashford)



From tangled brake and trellised bower
Bring every bud that blows,
But never will you find the flower
To match an English rose.
It blooms with more than city grace,
Though rustic and apart;
It has a smile upon its face,
And a dewdrop in its heart.

Though wide the goodly world around
Your fancy may have strayed,
Where was the woman ever found
To match an English maid?
At work she smiles, through play she sings,
She doubts not nor denies;
She'll cling to you as woodbine clings,
And love you till she dies.

If you would put it to the proof,
Then round the zodiac roam;
But never will you find the roof
To match an English home.
You hear the sound of children's feet
Still pattering on the stair:
'Tis made by loving labour sweet,
And sanctified by prayer.

Go traverse tracts sublime or sweet,
Snow-peak or scorched ravine,
But where will you the landscape meet
To match an English scene?
The hamlet hallowed by its spire,
The wildwood fresh with flowers,
Garden and croft and thorp and byre
Gleaming through silvery showers.

Across the wave, along the wind,
Flutter and plough your way,
But where will you a Sceptre find
To match the English Sway?
Its conscience holds the world in awe
With blessing or with ban;
Its Freedom guards the Reign of Law,
And majesty of Man!


Scheme ABABCDCD EFEFGHGH IJIJKLKL KMKMXNAN OPOPXQXQ
Poetic Form Etheree  (35%)
Metre 11010110 1100111 110111010 111101 11111101 110001 11010111 001011 11010101 110111 11010101 111101 11111111 111101 1111111 011111 11111101 110101 11011101 111101 11011101 11101 1111011 0111 11010111 111101 1111011 111101 01010111 011110 10010101 10110010 01010101 100111 11110101 110101 11010101 110111 11010111 010011
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,240
Words 234
Sentences 11
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 40
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 201
Words per stanza (avg) 46
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 16, 2023

1:10 min read
32

Alfred Austin

Alfred Austin DL was an English poet who was appointed Poet Laureate in 1896 upon the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson. more…

All Alfred Austin poems | Alfred Austin Books

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