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   John Masefield's "Beauty" is made up of two quatrains rhyming a b a b, c d c d.  The rhythm of each line is iambic but the number of syllables is not fixed and regular which reinforces the  overall tone of the poem which is  informal and casual.

   The thought content or the idea of the poem is fairly straightforward and simple: his lady lover's face is more beautiful than all of Nature in the month of April which marks the end of a bitterly cold winter and anticipates summer the most desirable  season for the native Englishman.

   But having said that, the manner in which this thought is expressed is strikingly unusual. Throughout the poem we find Masefield deliberately  and poetically 'confusing' the faculties of vision and hearing. The mesmerisingly slow manner in which the beautiful dawn and sunset appear on the moors is compared to the manner in which he hears the hauntingly melodious Spanish tunes. The beauty of the dawn and the sunset which appeal to his eyes is compared to the melodious spanish tunes which he hears. Similarly, he indirectly expresses the beauty of the spring blossoms by saying that instead of seeing these blossoms he hears their beautiful song. Finally, one of "the loveliest things of beauty God ever has showed" to him is her "voice," which can only be heard. 

   Throughout the poem Masefield uses the present perfect tense which is foregrounded by the thrice repeated use of "have." This affirms beyond the slightest doubt the truth of his assertion that his lady love is more beautiful than all the beauties which nature has to offer.

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   http://www.enotes.com/john-masefield-salem/john-masefield...

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   Posted by lit24 on Sunday May 24, 2009 at 8:27 AM