Analysis of To My Daughter Mary Ann, Asleep
Sweetly asleep is Mary Ann,
In calmest infantile repose
Her lovely face no longer wan,
Seems lovelier still when in a doze.
Sleep on, my babe, I'll not disturb,
Thy silent rest I love to view;
For now thou needest not the curb
I use in trying to subdue
Thy peevish temper, which, I ween
Needs constant care from me, thy site,
While through thy childish ways are seen
Thy passions strong in wildest fire.
Sleep on, my child, some future day
May see thee walking in God's ways.
For this great blessing will I pray
Still guided by the Truth's clear rays.
Sleep on, my little girl, till morn,
And when awake pursue thy play;
Yet, when grown up, may'st thou adorn
The sphere in which thou mov'st by day.
Sleep on, my daughter, sleep in peace.
Thou has been toiling through the day.
Thy little tongue doth seldom cease
From talking much in thy own way.
Sleep on, sweet prattler, and may bright
Angelic Spirits guard thee round,
Till Sol with his resplendent light
Doth break thy slumbers quite profound.
Yes, sleep, my child, through every night,
As fast revolving years proceed.
By day enjoy the heavenly light,
Of which we in the Bible read.
But oh, sleep not when duties bid
My girl awake to run the race
Which Christians run, when thorns amid
May make her see her need of Grace.
And oh, sleep not in ways of sin,
For dangers lurk with serpent wiles;
And false security within,
Each unsuspecting mind beguiles.
And when the solemn time arrives
For thee to sleep in death at peace,
And thy pure spirit strongly strives
To gain her longed-for wished release,
O, may she mount to yon abode
Where God's blest Saints and Angels dwell;
And there rejoice in him who trode
The path to death to save from hell.
Scheme | ABXB CDCD AEXX FGFG HFHF IFIF EJEJ EXEX KLKL MXMB NINI XOEO |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (83%) |
Metre | 10011101 01010001 01011101 1111001 11111101 11011111 1111101 11010101 11010111 11011111 11110111 110101010 11111101 11110011 11110111 11010111 11110111 01010111 111111101 01011111 11110101 11110101 11011101 11010111 1111011 1010111 11110101 1111101 111111001 11010101 110101001 11100101 11111101 11011101 11011101 11010111 01110111 11011101 01010001 101011 01010101 11110111 01110101 11011101 11111101 11110101 01010111 01111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,659 |
Words | 314 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 12 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 111 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 26 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 1:36 min read
- 26 Views
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"To My Daughter Mary Ann, Asleep" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/43532/to-my-daughter-mary-ann%2C-asleep>.
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