Analysis of The Pedlar

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



FLY, fly, my pretty pigeon, fly!
And see if you can find him;
He has blue eyes--you'll know him by,--
He wears a pack behind him.
He's gone away--ah! many a mile
Because he could not please me,
And, oh! 'twill be a weary while
Ere next he comes to tease me.

He carries wares of every kind,
Fine ribbons, silks, and laces,
Bargains to rhyme with every mind,
And hues to suit all faces.
He has gold rings and pretty things
That other maids will throng for,
Ah, pigeon! spread your pretty wings,
And fly to him I long for.

Tell him to turn and come again,
For once I sent him packing;
He offered me a bargain then,
But wit and price were lacking.
I have the price he asked of me,
The wit that will not weigh it;
Ah! bid him come again and see
How gladly I will pay it.

A heart of gold he offered me
As 'twere a penny fairing,
And only asked a worthless fee,
This heavy heart I'm wearing.
I would not then--now long and drear
The white way winds behind him;
Ah! seek him, seek him, Pigeon dear,
But you will never find him!


Scheme ABABCDCD EFEFGHGH IJIJDKDK DJDJHBXB
Poetic Form
Metre 11110101 0111111 11111111 1101011 110111001 0111111 01110101 1111111 110111001 1101010 101111001 0111110 11110101 1101111 11011101 0111111 11110101 1111110 11010101 1101010 11011111 0111111 11110101 1101111 01111101 110101 01010101 1101110 11111101 0111011 11111101 1111011
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,027
Words 206
Sentences 15
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 191
Words per stanza (avg) 51
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:02 min read
30

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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