Analysis of The Squanderer

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919



God gave him passions, splendid as the sun,
Meant for the lordliest purposes; a part
Of nature's full and fertile mother heart,
From which new systems and new stars are spun.
And now, behold, behold, what he has done!
In Folly's court and carnal Pleasures' mart
He flung the wealth life gave him at the start.
(This, of all mortal sins, the deadliest one.)

At dawn he stood, potential, opulent,
With virile manhood, and emotions keen,
And wonderful with God's creative fire.
At noon he stands, with Love's large fortune spent
In petty traffic, unproductive, mean-
A pauper, cursed with impotent desire.


Scheme ABBAABBA XCDXCD
Poetic Form
Metre 1111010101 110110001 1101010101 1111001111 0101011111 011010101 1101111101 11110101001 1111010100 110100101 01001101010 1111111101 010100101 01011100010
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 597
Words 105
Sentences 7
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 6
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 235
Words per stanza (avg) 51
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
96

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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

All Ella Wheeler Wilcox poems | Ella Wheeler Wilcox Books

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