Analysis of For Dolly -- Who Does Not Learn Her Lessons

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



You see the fairies dancing in the fountain,
Laughing, leaping, sparkling with the spray;
You see the gnomes, at work beneath the mountain,
Make gold and silver and diamonds every day;
You see the angels, sliding down the moonbeams,
Bring white dreams like sheaves of lilies fair;
You see the imps, scarce seen against the moonbeams,
Rise from the bonfire's blue and liquid air.

All the enchantment, all the magic there is
Hid in trees and blossoms, to you is plain and true.
Dewdrops in lupin leaves are jewels for the fairies;
Every flower that blows is a miracle for you.
Air, earth, water, fire, spread their splendid wares for you.
Millions of magics beseech your little looks;
Every soul your winged soul meets, loves you and cares for you.
Ah! why must we clip those wings and dim those eyes with books?

Soon, soon enough the magic lights grow dimmer,
Marsh mists arise to cloud the radiant sky,
Dust of hard highways will veil the starry glimmer,
Tired hands will lay the folded magic by.
Storm winds will blow through those enchanted closes,
Fairies be crushed where weed and briar grow strong . . .
Leave her her crown of magic stars and roses,
Leave her her kingdom--she will not keep it long!


Scheme ABABCDCD EFXFFGFG HIHIEJEJ
Poetic Form
Metre 11010100010 101010101 11011101010 110100101001 1101010101 111111101 1101110101 110110101 10010101011 101010111101 101011101010 10010111010011 1110101110111 1011011101 10011111110111 1111111011111 11010101110 11011101001 11111101010 10111010101 11111101010 10111101011 10011101010 10010111111
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,189
Words 213
Sentences 13
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 40
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 316
Words per stanza (avg) 71
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:04 min read
83

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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