Analysis of The Past
Edith Nesbit 1858 (Kennington, Surrey ) – 1924 (New Romney, Kent)
MAKE strong your door with bolt and bar,
Make every window fast;
Strong brass and iron as they are,
They are so easy passed--
So easy broken and cast aside,
And by the open door
My footsteps come to your guarded home,
And pass away no more.
In the golden noon--by the lovers' moon,
My shadow bars your way,
My shroud shows white in the blackest night
And grey in the gladdest day.
And by your board and by your bed
There is a place for me,
And in the glow when the coals burn low,
My face is the face ye see
I come between when ye laugh and lean,
I burn in the tears ye weep:
I am there when ye wake in the gray day-break
From the gold of a lovers' sleep.
I wither the rose and I spoil the song,
And Death is not strong to save--
For I shall creep while your mourners weep,
And wait for you in your grave.
Scheme | ABABXCXC XDXDXEXE XFXFXGFG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111101 1100101 11010111 111101 110100101 010101 11111101 010111 0010110101 11111 111100101 010011 01110111 110111 000110111 1110111 110111101 1100111 11111100111 10110101 1100101101 0111111 111111101 0111011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 813 |
Words | 168 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 205 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 55 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 50 sec read
- 97 Views
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"The Past" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/8996/the-past>.
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