Sonnet III: To a Nightingale
Charlotte Smith 1749 (London) – 1806 (Tilford, Surrey)
Poor melancholy bird---that all night long
Tell'st to the Moon, thy tale of tender woe;
From what sad cause can such sweet sorrow flow,
And whence this mournful melody of song?
Thy poet's musing fancy would translate
What mean the sounds that swell thy little breast,
When still at dewy eve thou leav'st thy nest,
Thus to the listening night to sing thy fate!
Pale Sorrow's victims wert thou once among,
Tho' now releas'd in woodlands wild to rove?
Say---hast thou felt from friends some cruel wrong,
Or diedst thou---martyr of disastrous love?
Ah! songstress sad! that such my lot might be,
To sigh and sing at liberty---like thee!
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 28, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 285 Views
Quick analysis:
| Scheme | ABBA CDDC XXAXEE |
|---|---|
| Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
| Characters | 627 |
| Words | 111 |
| Stanzas | 3 |
| Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 6 |
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"Sonnet III: To a Nightingale" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/5587/sonnet-iii:-to-a-nightingale>.
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