Analysis of England

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



Shoulders of upland brown laid dark to the sunset's bosom,
Living amber of wheat, and copper of new-ploughed loam,
Downs where the white sheep wander, little gardens in blossom,
Roads that wind through the twilight up to the lights of home.

Lanes that are white with hawthorn, dykes where the sedges shiver,
Hollows where caged winds slumber, moorlands where winds wake free,
Sowing and reaping and gleaning, spring and torrent and river,
Are they not more, by worlds, than the whole of the world can be?

Is there a corner of land, a furze-fringed rag of a by-way,
Coign of your foam-white cliffs or swirl of your grass-green waves,
Leaf of your peaceful copse, or dust of your strenuous highway,
But in our hearts is sacred, dear as our cradles, our graves?
Is not each bough in your orchards, each cloud in the skies above you,
Is not each byre or homestead, furrow or farm or fold,
Dear as the last dear drops of the blood in the hearts that love you,
Filling those hearts till the love is more than the heart can hold?


Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEFGHGH
Poetic Form Traditional rhyme
Metre 1011011110110 1010110101111 11011101010010 111101110111 111111110110 101111011111 10010011010010 11111110110111 110101101111011 1111111111111 11110111111001 10101110111010101 1111011011001011 111111101111 110111101001111 10111011110111
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 1,030
Words 187
Sentences 5
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 8
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 50
Words per line (avg) 12
Letters per stanza (avg) 268
Words per stanza (avg) 62
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 02, 2023

56 sec read
37

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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