Analysis of Life Is A Privilege



Life is a privilege. Its youthful days
Shine with the radiance of continuous Mays.
To live, to breathe, to wonder and desire,
To feed with dreams the heart’s perpetual fire,
To thrill with virtuous passions, and to glow
With great ambitions – in one hour to know
The depths and heights of feeling – God! in truth,
How beautiful, how beautiful is youth!

Life is a privilege. Like some rare rose
The mysteries of the human mind unclose.
What marvels lie in the earth, and air, and sea!
What stores of knowledge wait our opening key!
What sunny roads of happiness lead out
Beyond the realms of indolence and doubt!
And what large pleasures smile upon and bless
The busy avenues of usefulness!

Life is a privilege. Thought the noontide fades
And shadows fall along the winding glades,
Though joy-blooms wither in the autumn air,
Yet the sweet scent of sympathy is there.
Pale sorrow leads us closer to our kind,
And in the serious hours of life we find
Depths in the souls of men which lend new worth
And majesty to this brief span of earth.

Life is a privilege. If some sad fate
Sends us alone to seek the exit gate,
If men forsake us and as shadows fall,
Still does the supreme privilege of all
Come in that reaching upward of the soul
To find the welcoming Presence at the goal,
And in the Knowledge that our feet have trod
Paths that led from, and must wind back, to God.


Scheme AABBCCDD XAEEFFXX GGHHIIJJ KKLLMMNN
Poetic Form
Metre 110101101 110100101001 11111100010 111101010010 11110010011 11010011011 0101110101 1100110011 110101111 0100101011 11010010101 111101101001 1101110011 01011101 0111010101 010101100 110101011 011010101 1111000101 1011110011 11011101101 000100101111 1001111111 0100111111 110101111 1101110101 110110111 110011011 1011010101 11010010101 00010110111 1111011111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,368
Words 256
Sentences 16
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 271
Words per stanza (avg) 64
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 27, 2023

1:16 min read
179

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet. more…

All Ella Wheeler Wilcox poems | Ella Wheeler Wilcox Books

2 fans

Discuss this Ella Wheeler Wilcox poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Life Is A Privilege" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10682/life-is-a-privilege>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    More poems by

    Ella Wheeler Wilcox

    »

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    13
    hours
    56
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    A poem that has no rhyme is called ________.
    A a ballad
    B a song
    C a limerick
    D free verse