Analysis of Baby's Birthday
Edith Nesbit 1858 (Kennington, Surrey ) – 1924 (New Romney, Kent)
BEFORE your life that is to come,
Love stands with eager eyes, that vainly
Seek to discern what gift may fit
The slow unfolding years of it;
And still Time's lips are sealed and dumb,
And still Love sees no future plainly.
We cannot guess what flowers will spring
Best in your garden, bloom most brightly;
But some fair flowers in any plot
Will spring and grow, and wither not;
And such wish-flowers we gladly bring,
And in that small hand lay them lightly.
Baby, we wish that those dear eyes
May see fulfilment of our dreaming,
Those little feet may turn from wrong,
Those hands to hold the right be strong,
That heart be pure, that mind be wise
To know the true from the true-seeming.
We wish that all your life may be
A life of selfless brave endeavour--
That for reward the fates allow
Such love as lines your soft nest now
To warm the years for you, when we,
Who wish you this, are cold for ever.
Scheme | ABCCAB DBEEDB FDGGFD BHIIBH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01111111 111101110 11011111 01010111 01111101 011111010 110111011 101101110 111100101 11010101 011101101 001111110 10111111 11111010 11011111 11110111 11111111 110110110 11111111 011101010 11010101 11111111 11011111 111111110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 915 |
Words | 176 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 176 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 43 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 53 sec read
- 289 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Baby's Birthday" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/8790/baby%27s-birthday>.
Discuss this Edith Nesbit poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In