Analysis of Evening Prayer

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



NOT to the terrible God, avenging, bright,
Whose altars struck their roots in flame and blood,
Not to the jealous God, whose merciless might
The infamy of unclean years withstood;
But to the God who lit the evening star,
Who taught the flower to blossom in delight,
Who taught His world what love and worship are
We pray, we two, to-night.

To no vast Presence too immense to love,
To no enthronèd King too great to care,
To no strange Spirit human needs above
We bring our little, intimate, heart-warm prayer;
But to the God who is a Father too,
The Father who loved and gave His only Son
We pray across the cradle, I and you,
For ours, our little one!


Scheme AXAXBABA CDCDEFEF
Poetic Form
Metre 11010010101 1101110101 11010111001 0100101101 1101110101 11010110001 1111110101 111111 1111010111 111111111 1111010101 111010100111 1101110101 01011011101 1101010101 11010101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 661
Words 124
Sentences 3
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 254
Words per stanza (avg) 61
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

37 sec read
55

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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