The Offering by Edith Nesbit (1905)
The poem's speaker offers their heart to someone they love, asking what they will give in return. The heart is described as a treasure that can ache and pine, but also beat true time to the loved one's voice. The speaker acknowledges they cannot ask for a price when all they want is for the other person to take their heart without expectation of return. They surrender their heart, willing to be hurt or forsaken, with the epitaph "She held me in her hands until I died" as a testament to their devotion.
By Edith Nesbit · First published 1905 · Genre: Poetry, Romance, Drama · 195 words
First lines
What will you give me for this heart of mine, No heart of gold -- and yet my dearest treasure? It has its graces -- it can ache and pine, And beat true time to your sweet voice's measure; It bears your name, it lives but for your pleasure: What will you give me for this heart I bring, That holds my life, my joy, my everything?
How can I ask a price, when all my prayer Is that, without return, you will but take it -- Feed it with hope, or starve it to despair, Keep it to play with, mock it, crush it, break it, And, if your will lies there, at last forsake it? Its epitaph shall voice its deathless pride: "She held me in her hands until I died. "
What this Textopian page supports
The Offering is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edith Nesbit, dated 1905 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Edith Nesbit
- Date: 1905 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Romance, Drama
- Length: 195 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
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Discussion starters
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Similar titles
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Genres
- Poetry — The work is written in verse, with a rhythmic structure and rhyme scheme.
- Romance — The content revolves around themes of love, heartache, and desire.
- Drama — The work presents intense emotional conflicts and expressions.
Tags
Fantasy · Children's Literature · Adventure · Mystery · Supernatural · Folklore · Mythology · British Fiction · Victorian Era · Classic · Novel · Quest