Analysis of My Heritage
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
I into life so full of love was sent
That all the shadows which fall on the way
Of every human being could not stay,
But fled before the light my spirit lent.
I saw the world through gold and crimson dyes:
Men sighed and said, 'Those rosy hues will fade
As you pass on into the glare and shade!'
Still beautiful the way seems to mine eyes.
They said, 'You are too jubilant and glad;
The world is full of sorrow and of wrong.
Full soon your lips shall breathe forth sighs—not song.'
The day wears on, and yet I am not sad.
They said, 'You love too largely, and you must,
Through wound on wound, grow bitter to your kind.'
They were false prophets; day by day I find
More cause for love, and less cause for distrust.
They said, 'Too free you give your soul's rare wine;
The world will quaff, but it will not repay.'
Yet in the emptied flagons, day by day,
True hearts pour back a nectar as divine.
Thy heritage! Is it not love's estate?
Look to it, then, and keep its soil well tilled.
I hold that my best wishes are fulfilled
Because I love so much, and cannot hate.
Scheme | A B B A C D D C E F F E G H H G I B B I J A X J |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011111111 110111101 11001010111 1101011101 1101110101 1101110111 1111010101 1100011111 1111110001 0111110011 1111111111 0111011111 1111110011 1111110111 1011011111 1111011101 1111111111 0111111101 100101111 1111010101 1100111101 1111011111 1111110101 0111110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,052 |
Words | 214 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 24 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 34 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 9 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:03 min read
- 78 Views
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"My Heritage" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10719/my-heritage>.
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