Analysis of Magnificat

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



THIS is Christ's birthday: long ago
He lay upon His Mother's knee,
Who kissed and blessed Him soft and low--
God's gift to her, as you to me.

My baby dear, my little one,
The love that rocks this cradling breast
Is such as Mary gave her Son:
She was more honoured, not more blest.

He smiled as you smile: not more sweet
Than your eyes were those eyes of His,
And just such little hands and feet
As yours Our Lady used to kiss.

The world's desire that Mother bore:
She held a King upon her knee:
O King of all my world, and more
Than all the world's desire to me!

I thank God on the Christmas morn,
For He has given me all things good:
This body which a child has borne,
This breast, made holy for his food.

High in high heaven Our Lady's throne
Beside her Son's stands up apart:
I sit on heaven's steps alone
And hold my king against my heart.

Across dark depths she hears your cry;
She sees your smile, through worlds of blue
Who was a mother, even as I,
And loved her Child, as I love you.

And to her heart my babe is dear,
Because she bore the Babe Divine,
And all my soul to hers draws near,
And loves Him for the sake of mine!


Scheme ABAB CDCD EXEX FBFB GXGX HIHI JKJK LMLM
Poetic Form Quatrain  (75%)
Metre 1111101 11011101 11011101 11101111 11011101 011111001 11110101 1111111 11111111 11101111 01110101 111010111 010101101 11010101 11111101 110101011 11110101 111101111 11010111 11110111 1011010101 01011101 11110101 01110111 01111111 11111111 110101011 01011111 01011111 01110101 01111011 01110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,139
Words 230
Sentences 9
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 108
Words per stanza (avg) 29
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 04, 2023

1:11 min read
58

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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