Analysis of Progress
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
Let there be many windows to your soul,
That all the glory of the universe
May beautify it. Not the narrow pane
Of one poor creed can catch the radiant rays
That shine from countless sources. Tear away
The blinds of superstition; let the light
Pour through fair windows broad as truth itself
And high as God.
Why should the spirit peer
Through some priest-curtained orifice, and grope
Along dim corridors of doubt, when all
The splendor from unfathomed seas of space
Might bathe it with the golden waves of Love?
Sweep up the debris of decaying faiths;
Sweep down the cobwebs of worn-out beliefs,
And throw your soul wide open to the light
Of Reason and of knowledge. Tune your ear
To all the wordless music of the stars,
And to the voice of Nature; and your heart
Shall turn to truth and goodness as the plant
Turns to the sun. A thousand unseen hands
Reach down to help you to their peace-crowned heights,
And all the forces of the firmament
Shall fortify your strength. Be not afraid
To thrust aside half-truths and grasp the whole.
Scheme | ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOFPQRSTUFVA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (24%) |
Metre | 1111010111 110101010 110110101 11111101001 1111010101 011010101 1111011101 0111 110101 111110001 0111001111 01011111 1111010111 1100110101 110111101 0111110101 1100110111 1101010101 0101110011 1111010101 1101010011 1111111111 01010101 110111101 1101110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,043 |
Words | 189 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 25 |
Lines Amount | 25 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 828 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 187 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 21, 2023
- 56 sec read
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"Progress" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10767/progress>.
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