Analysis of East London

Matthew Arnold 1822 (Laleham) – 1888 (Liverpool)



'Twas August, and the fierce sun overhead
Smote on the squalid streets of Bethnal Green,
And the pale weaver, through his windows seen
In Spitalfields, looked thrice dispirited.
I met a preacher there I knew, and said:
"Ill and o'erworked, how fare you in this scene?" -
"Bravely!" said he; "for I of late have been
Much cheered with thoughts of Christ, the living bread."
O human soul! as long as thou canst so
Set up a mark of everlasting light,
Above the howling senses' ebb and flow,
To cheer thee, and to right thee if thou roam -
Not with lost toil thou labourest through the night!
Thou mak'st the heaven thou hop'st indeed thy home.


Scheme ABBCABDAEFEGFG
Poetic Form
Metre 1100011101 110101111 0011011101 01110100 1101011101 101111011 1011111111 1111110101 1101111111 110110101 0101010101 1110111111 111111101 1110101110111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 637
Words 122
Sentences 8
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 492
Words per stanza (avg) 117
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 15, 2023

36 sec read
146

Matthew Arnold

Matthew Arnold was a British poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. more…

All Matthew Arnold poems | Matthew Arnold Books

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