Analysis of The Bluebell

Anne Brontë 1820 (Thornton, West Yorkshire) – 1849 (Scarborough, North Yorkshire)



A fine and subtle spirit dwells
In every little flower,
Each one its own sweet feeling breathes
With more or less of power.
There is a silent eloquence
In every wild bluebell
That fills my softened heart with bliss
That words could never tell.

Yet I recall not long ago
A bright and sunny day,
'Twas when I led a toilsome life
So many leagues away;

That day along a sunny road
All carelessly I strayed,
Between two banks where smiling flowers
Their varied hues displayed.

Before me rose a lofty hill,
Behind me lay the sea,
My heart was not so heavy then
As it was wont to be.

Less harassed than at other times
I saw the scene was fair,
And spoke and laughed to those around,
As if I knew no care.

But when I looked upon the bank
My wandering glances fell
Upon a little trembling flower,
A single sweet bluebell.

Whence came that rising in my throat,
That dimness in my eye?
Why did those burning drops distil --
Those bitter feelings rise?

O, that lone flower recalled to me
My happy childhood's hours
When bluebells seemed like fairy gifts
A prize among the flowers,

Those sunny days of merriment
When heart and soul were free,
And when I dwelt with kindred hearts
That loved and cared for me.

I had not then mid heartless crowds
To spend a thankless life
In seeking after others' weal
With anxious toil and strife.  

'Sad wanderer, weep those blissful times
That never may return!'
The lovely floweret seemed to say,
And thus it made me mourn.


Scheme XAXAXBXB XCDC XEFE GHXH IJXJ XBAB XXGX HFXF CHXH XDBD IXCX
Poetic Form
Metre 01010101 01001010 11111101 1111110 11010100 010011 11110111 111101 1111101 010101 1111011 110101 11010101 110011 011111010 110101 01110101 011101 11111101 111111 10111101 110111 01011101 111111 11110101 1100101 0101010010 01011 11110011 11011 11110101 110101 111100111 110110 1111101 0101010 110111 110101 01111101 110111 11111101 110101 01010101 110101 110011101 110101 0101111 011111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,408
Words 271
Sentences 13
Stanzas 11
Stanza Lengths 8, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 48
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 104
Words per stanza (avg) 24
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 02, 2023

1:21 min read
149

Anne Brontë

Anne Brontë was a British novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Brontë literary family. more…

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