The Stinging Nettle



The stinging nettle only
Will still be found to stand:
The numberless, the lonely,
The thronger of the land,
The leaf that hurts the hand.

That thrives, come sun, come showers;
Blow east, blow west, it springs;
It peoples towns, and towers
Above the courts of Kings,
And touch it and it stings.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 01, 2023

16 sec read
99

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABB CDCDD
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 293
Words 55
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 5, 5

Alfred Edward Housman

Alfred Edward Housman, usually known as A. E. Housman, was an English classical scholar and poet, best known to the general public for his cycle of poems A Shropshire Lad.  more…

All Alfred Edward Housman poems | Alfred Edward Housman Books

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    "The Stinging Nettle" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/927/the-stinging-nettle>.

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