Analysis of God's Garden

Robert Frost 1874 (San Francisco) – 1963 (Boston)



God made a beatous garden
With lovely flowers strown,
But one straight, narrow pathway
That was not overgrown.
And to this beauteous garden
He brought mankind to live,
And said: 'To you, my children,
These lovely flowers I give.
Prune ye my vines and fig trees,
With care my flowerets tend,
But keep the pathway open
Your home is at the end.'

Then came another master,
Who did not love mankind,
And planted on the pathway
Gold flowers for them to find.
And mankind saw the bright flowers,
That, glitt'ring in the sun,
Quite hid the thorns of av'rice
That poison blood and bone;
And far off many wandered,
And when life's night came on,
They still were seeking gold flowers,
Lost, helpless and alone.

O, cease to heed the glamour
That blinds your foolish eyes,
Look upward to the glitter
Of stars in God's clear skies.
Their ways are pure and harmless
And will not lead astray,
Bid aid your erring footsteps
To keep the narrow way.
And when the sun shines brightly
Tend flowers that God has given
And keep the pathway open
That leads you on to heaven.


Scheme AABCAXAXDEAE FGBGHADCXXHC FIFIXBXBXAAA
Poetic Form
Metre 110110 110101 111101 11101 011110 111111 0111110 1101011 1111011 11111 110110 111101 1101010 111111 010101 1101111 01110110 11001 110111 110101 0111010 011111 11010110 110001 1111010 111101 1101010 110111 1111010 011101 111101 110101 0101110 11011110 010110 1111110
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,023
Words 194
Sentences 9
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 12, 12, 12
Lines Amount 36
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 275
Words per stanza (avg) 64
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 04, 2023

59 sec read
1,395

Robert Frost

Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in America. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. more…

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