Sonnet XXVI
Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806 (Kelloe) – 1861 (Florence)
I lived with visions for my company
Instead of men and women, years ago,
And found them gentle mates, nor thought to know
A sweefer music than they played to me.
But soon their trailing purple was not free
Of this world's dust, their lutes did silent grow,
And I myself grew faint and blind below
Their vanishing eyes. Then THOU didst come--to be,
Beloved, what they seemed. Their shining fronts,
Their songs, their splendors (better, yet the same,
As river-water hallowed into fonts),
Met in thee, and from out thee overcame
My soul with satisfaction of all wants:
Because God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 84 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBAABBACDEDED |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 612 |
Words | 110 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
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"Sonnet XXVI" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/10355/sonnet-xxvi>.
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