Analysis of Love Cannot Die

John Clare 1793 (Helpston) – 1864 (St Andrew's Hospital)



In crime and enmity they lie
Who sin and tell us love can die,
Who say to us in slander's breath
That love belongs to sin and death.
From heaven it came on angel's wing
To bloom on earth, eternal spring;
In falsehood's enmity they lie
Who sin and tell us love can die.

Twas born upon an angel's breast.
The softest dreams, the sweetest rest,
The brightest sun, the bluest sky,
Are love's own home and canopy.
The thought that cheers this heart of mine
Is that of love; love so divine
They sin who say in slander's breath
That love belongs to sin and death.

The sweetest voice that lips contain,
The sweetest thought that leaves the brain,
The sweetest feeling of the heart--
There's pleasure in its very smart.
The scent of rose and cinnamon
Is not like love remembered on;
In falsehood's enmity they lie
Who sin and tell us love can die.


Scheme aAbBccAA ddaxeebB ffggxxAA
Poetic Form
Metre 01010011 11011111 1111011 11011101 11011111 11110101 0110011 11011111 1101111 01010101 01010101 11110100 01111111 11111101 1111011 11011101 01011101 01011101 01010101 11001101 01110100 11110101 0110011 11011111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 823
Words 159
Sentences 8
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 218
Words per stanza (avg) 52
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

50 sec read
97

John Clare

John Clare was an English poet in his time he was commonly known as the Northamptonshire Peasant Poet more…

All John Clare poems | John Clare Books

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