Analysis of Vignette - III

Matilda Betham 1776 (Stradbroke, Suffolk) – 1852 (London)



This twilight gloom. This lone retreat--
This silence to my soul is sweet!
Awhile escap'd from toil and strife,
And all the lesser ills of life,
Here only at the evening's close,
My weary spirit finds repose;
My sinking heart its freedom gains,
Which poverty had bound in chains!

For here unheard the moments fly--
And so secure, so happy I,
That, often at the very last,
I feel not that my dream is past.
The little hour of bliss I spend,
With thee, my chosen, only friend!
That transient hour the heart sustains,
Which poverty has bound in chains!

And for this dear, this precious hour,
I would not, if I had the power,
Exchange a worldling's life of ease,
Whom all around him seek to please.
I have no other friend beside,
But here I safely may confide.
Suspicion ne'er the bosom stains,
Which poverty has bound in chains!

How oft I wonder at my lot!
How oft are all but thee forgot!
While in this half-despairing breast,
Love builds a little, quiet nest,
To hover o'er with joyous wing,
Nay, sometimes soar aloft and sing!
'Tis this alone the heart sustains,
Which poverty has bound in chains!


Scheme aabbxxcc ddeeffcC gghhiicC jjkkllcC
Poetic Form
Metre 1111101 11011111 01011101 01010111 11010101 11010101 11011101 11001101 11010101 01011101 11010101 11111111 010101111 11110101 110100101 11001101 011111010 111111010 0101111 11011111 11110101 11110101 01010101 11001101 11110111 11111101 10110101 11010101 110101101 10110101 11010101 11001101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,086
Words 204
Sentences 15
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 212
Words per stanza (avg) 50
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:02 min read
90

Matilda Betham

Mary Matilda Betham, known by family and friends as Matilda Betham (16 November 1776 – 30 September 1852), was an English diarist, poet, woman of letters, and miniature portrait painter. She exhibited paintings at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1804 to 1816. Her first of four books of verses was published in 1797. For six years, she researched notable historical women around the world and published A Biographical Dictionary of the Celebrated Women of Every Age and Country in 1804. more…

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