Analysis of Seed-Time And Harvest

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



MY hollyhocks are all awake,
And not a single rose is lost;
My wallflowers, for dear pity's sake,
Have fought the winter's cruel frost;
Pink peony buds begin to peer,
And flags push up their sword-blades fine:
I know there will not be this year
A brighter garden plot than mine.

I'll sow the seeds of mignonette,
Of snapdragon and sunflowers tall,
And scarlet poppies I will set
To flower against the southern wall;
Already all my lilies show
The green crowns baby lilies wear,
And all my flowers will grow and blow,
Because Love's hand has set them there.

I'll plant and water, sow and weed,
Till not an inch of earth shows brown,
And take a vow of each small seed
To grow to greenness and renown:
And then some day you'll pass my way,
See gold and crimson, bell and star,
And catch my garden's soul, and say:
'How sweet these cottage gardens are!'


Scheme ABABCDCD BEXEFGFG HIHIJKJK
Poetic Form
Metre 1101101 01010111 111111 11010101 110010111 01111111 11111111 01010111 110111 1100101 01010111 110010101 01011101 01110101 011101101 01111111 11010101 11111111 01011111 11110001 01111111 11010101 01110101 11110101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 857
Words 160
Sentences 4
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 220
Words per stanza (avg) 52
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

49 sec read
108

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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