‘From a Railway Carriage’ belongs to a considerable poetic tradition: that of conveying the experience of a railway journey through the rhythm of verse. The poem was published in Robert Louis Stevenson‘s 1885 volume of poetry for children, A Child’s Garden of Verses, a couple of years after he’d had a runaway bestseller with Treasure Island. ‘From a Railway Carriage’ is a masterly piece of versification, using its sprightly rhythm to evoke the movement of a train. Here is the poem, followed by a few words by way of analysis of its meaning and its effects.
