Analysis of As You Go Through Life
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
Don’t look for the flaws as you go through life;
And even when you find them,
It is wise and kind to be somewhat blind
And look for the virtue behind them.
For the cloudiest night has a hint of light
Somewhere in its shadows hiding;
It is better by far to hunt for a star,
Than the spots on the sun abiding.
The current of life runs ever away
To the bosom of God’s great ocean.
Don’t set your force ‘gainst the river’s course
And think to alter its motion.
Don’t waste a curse on the universe –
Remember it lived before you.
Don’t butt at the storm with your puny form,
But bend and let it go o’er you.
The world will never adjust itself
To suit your whims to the letter.
Some things must go wrong your whole life long,
And the sooner you know it the better.
It is folly to fight with the Infinite,
And go under at last in the wrestle;
The wiser man shapes into God’s plan
As water shapes into a vessel.
Scheme | XAXAXBXB XCXCXDXD XEXEXFXF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1110111111 0101111 1110111111 011010011 101110111 101110 11101111101 101101010 0101111001 101011110 111110101 01110110 11011010 01011011 1110111101 11011111 011100101 11111010 111111111 0010111010 11101110100 0110110010 010110111 110101010 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 928 |
Words | 182 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 232 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 60 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 24, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 114 Views
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