Analysis of The Autumn Morning

Clive Staples Lewis 1898 (Clive Staples Lewis Belfast) – 1963 (Oxford)



See! the pale autumn dawn
Is faint, upon the lawn
  That lies in powdered white
      Of hoar-frost dight

And now from tree to tree
The ghostly mist we see
  Hung like a silver pall
      To hallow all.

It wreathes the burdened air
So strangely everywhere
  That I could almost fear
      This silence drear

Where no one song-bird sings
And dream that wizard things
  Mighty for hate or love
      Were close above.

White as the fog and fair
Drifting through the middle air
  In magic dances dread
      Over my head.

Yet these should know me too
Lover and bondman true,
  One that has honoured well
      The mystic spell

Of earth’s most solemn hours
Wherein the ancient powers
  Of dryad, elf, or faun
      Or leprechaun

Oft have their faces shown
To me that walked alone
  Seashore or haunted fen
      Or mountain glen

Wherefore I will not fear
To walk the woodlands sere
  Into this autumn day
      Far, far away.


Scheme AABB CCXX DDEC FFGG DDHH IIJJ KKAA LLMM EENN
Poetic Form Quatrain  (78%)
Metre 101101 110101 110101 1111 011111 010111 110101 1101 110101 11010 11111 1101 111111 011101 101111 0101 110101 1010101 010101 1011 111111 10011 11111 0101 1111010 0101010 11111 11 111101 111101 11101 1101 11111 11011 011101 1101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 895
Words 159
Sentences 6
Stanzas 9
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 36
Letters per line (avg) 19
Words per line (avg) 4
Letters per stanza (avg) 75
Words per stanza (avg) 17
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

47 sec read
51

Clive Staples Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis was a British novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian, broadcaster, lecturer, and Christian apologist. He held academic positions at both Oxford University and Cambridge University. more…

All Clive Staples Lewis poems | Clive Staples Lewis Books

0 fans

Discuss this Clive Staples Lewis poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Autumn Morning" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6961/the-autumn-morning>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    0
    days
    0
    hours
    28
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    How many sonnets did William Shakespeare wrote during his life?
    A 101
    B 154
    C 5
    D 2