Analysis of Before Winter

Edith Nesbit 1858 (Kennington, Surrey ) – 1924 (New Romney, Kent)



The wind is crying in the night,
Like a lost child;
The waves break wonderful and white
And wild.
The drenched sea-poppies swoon along
The drenched sea-wall,
And there's an end of summer and of song -
An end of all.

The fingers of the tortured boughs
Gripped by the blast
Clutch at the windows of your house
Closed fast.
And the lost child of love, despair,
Cries in the night,
Remembering how once those windows were
Open and bright.


Scheme ABABCDCD XEXEXAXA
Poetic Form
Metre 01110001 1011 01110001 01 01110101 0111 0111110011 1111 01010101 1101 11010111 11 00111101 1001 0100111100 1001
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 427
Words 82
Sentences 5
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 21
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 171
Words per stanza (avg) 40
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 16, 2023

24 sec read
127

Edith Nesbit

Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland) was an English author and poet; she published her books for children under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 books of children's literature. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a socialist organisation later affiliated to the Labour Party. more…

All Edith Nesbit poems | Edith Nesbit Books

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