Analysis of A Star In The East
Edith Nesbit 1858 (Kennington, Surrey ) – 1924 (New Romney, Kent)
FOR THE ART EXHIBITION AT ST. JUDE'S, WHITECHAPEL
LIKE a fair flower springing fresh, sweet, and bright,
Through prison stones; or like one perfect song
Heard in a dream on one remembered night,
When waking worlds were dumb with grief and wrong;
Like the one kiss that links--first kiss and last--
The inevitable future spent apart
With the immutable divided past:
So in the east shines out this star of Art.
The narrow-shouldered, pale-faced girl and boy
Nestle against Art's new-found, love-warm breast,
And feel vague stirrings of a far-off joy,
Which life has never for themselves possessed,
And dimly guess at wonders hardly known--
Even as dreams--and weep glad tears to see
A loveliness that is at once life's own,
And yet is something life can never be.
Not worse will work the flying busy hand
Because the soul has drunk a cup of pleasure,
Has picked up on its leaden-coloured strand
Some little jewel of Art's splendid treasure,
Nor will less work be done because men see
That work is not the only thing in life,
Because they have been glad at heart and free
A little space 'mid sorrow, sin, and strife.
And this sweet draught may banish men's content?
For this we pray and strive--not all in vain--
That men may reach such heights of discontent
As never to fall back to peace again
Where no peace is--nor rest from strife and prayers,
But tread firm-footed up the thorny way,
Till all that spring of art and joy is theirs
Whereof they taste so small a draught to-day.
Scheme | X ABABCDCD EFEFGHGH IJIJHKHK LXLXMNMN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1010101111 10110101101 1101111011 1001110101 1101011101 1011111101 00100010101 1001000101 1001111111 0101011101 1001111111 0111010111 1111010101 0101110101 1011011111 01111111 0111011101 1111010101 01011101110 1111110101 11010111010 1111110111 1111010101 0111111101 0101110101 0111110110 1111011101 1111111001 1101111101 1111111101 1111010101 1111110111 111110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,485 |
Words | 264 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 33 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 232 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 52 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 1:20 min read
- 81 Views
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