Analysis of Good-Night

Robert Louis Stevenson 1850 (Edinburgh) – 1894 (Vailima, Samoa)



Then the bright lamp is carried in,
The sunless hours again begin;
O'er all without, in field and lane,
The haunted night returns again.

Now we behold the embers flee
About the firelit hearth; and see
Our faces painted as we pass,
Like pictures, on the window glass.

Must we to bed indeed? Well then,
Let us arise and go like men,
And face with an undaunted tread
The long black passage up to bed.

Farewell, O brother, sister, sire!
O pleasant party round the fire!
The songs you sing, the tales you tell,
Till far to-morrow, fare you well!


Scheme AAXB CCDD BBEE FFGG
Poetic Form Quatrain  (75%)
Metre 10111100 01100101 101010101 01010101 11010101 0101101 101010111 11010101 11110111 11010111 01110101 01110111 11101010 110101010 01110111 11110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 548
Words 102
Sentences 8
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 104
Words per stanza (avg) 25
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

30 sec read
194

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. more…

All Robert Louis Stevenson poems | Robert Louis Stevenson Books

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