Analysis of Child's Talk In April

Christina Georgina Rossetti 1830 (London) – 1894 (London)



I wish you were a pleasant wren,
And I your small accepted mate;
How we'd look down on toilsome men!
We'd rise and go to bed at eight
Or it may be not quite so late.

Then you should see the nest I'd build,
The wondrous nest for you and me;
The outside rough perhaps, but filled
With wool and down; ah, you should see
The cosy nest that it would be.

We'd have our change of hope and fear,
Small quarrels, reconcilements sweet:
I'd perch by you to chirp and cheer,
Or hop about on active feet,
And fetch you dainty bits to eat.

We'd be so happy by the day,
So safe and happy through the night,
We both should feel, and I should say,
It's all one season of delight,
And we'll make merry whilst we may,

Perhaps some day there'd be an egg
When spring had blossomed from the snow:
I'd stand triumphant on one leg;
Like chanticleer I'd almost crow
To let our little neighbours know.

Next you should sit and I would sing
Through lengthening days of sunny spring;
Till, if you wearied of the task,
I'd sit; and you should spread your wing
From bough to bough; I'd sit and bask.

Fancy the breaking of the shell,
The chirp, the chickens wet and bare,
The untried proud paternal swell;
And you with housewife-matron air
Enacting choicer bills of fare.

Fancy the embryo coats of down,
The gradual feathers soft and sleek;
Till clothed and strong from tail to crown,
With virgin warblings in their beak,
They too go forth to soar and seek.

So would it last an April through
And early summer fresh with dew,
Then should we part and live as twain:
Love-time would bring me back to you
And build our happy nest again.


Scheme ABABB CDCDD EFEFF GHGHG IJIJJ KKLKL MNMNN OPOPP QQXQA
Poetic Form Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 11100101 01110101 1111111 11011111 11111111 11110111 01011101 01110111 11011111 01011111 111011101 11011 11111101 11011101 01110111 11110101 11010101 11110111 11110101 01110111 01111111 11110101 11010111 11111 11101011 11110111 110011101 11110101 11011111 11111101 10010101 01010101 00110101 0111101 01010111 10010111 010010101 11011111 1101011 11111101 11111101 01010111 11110111 11111111 011010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,608
Words 306
Sentences 10
Stanzas 9
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
Lines Amount 45
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 138
Words per stanza (avg) 34
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:35 min read
114

Christina Georgina Rossetti

Christina Georgina Rossetti was an English poet who wrote various romantic, devotional, and children's poems. "Goblin Market" and "Remember" remain famous. She wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in the UK: "In the Bleak Midwinter", later set by Gustav Holst and by Harold Darke, and "Love Came Down at Christmas", set by Harold Darke and by other composers. more…

All Christina Georgina Rossetti poems | Christina Georgina Rossetti Books

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