The Beautiful Stranger
John Clare 1793 (Helpston) – 1864 (St Andrew's Hospital)
I cannot know what country owns thee now,
With France's forest lilies on thy brow.
When England knew thee thou wert passing fair;
I never knew a foreign face so rare.
The world of waters rolls and rushes bye,
Nor lets me wander where thy vallies lie.
But surely France must be a pleasant place
That greets the stranger with so fair a face;
The English maiden blushes down the dance,
But few can equal the fair maid of France.
I saw thee lovely and I wished thee mine,
And the last song I ever wrote is thine.
Thy country's honour on thy face attends;
Men may be foes but beauty makes us friends.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 35 sec read
- 67 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFF GG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 590 |
Words | 116 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 2 |
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"The Beautiful Stranger" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/22293/the-beautiful-stranger>.
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