Analysis of Plain Sermons

James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)



I saw a man--and envied him beside--
Because of this world's goods he had great store;
But even as I envied him, he died,
And left me envious of him no more.

I saw another man--and envied still--
Because he was content with frugal lot;
But as I envied him, the rich man's will
Bequeathed him all, and envy I forgot.

Yet still another man I saw, and he
I envied for a calm and tranquil mind
That nothing fretted in the least degree--
Until, alas! I found that he was blind.

What vanity is envy! for I find
I have been rich in dross of thought, and poor
In that I was a fool, and lastly blind
For never having seen myself before!


Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF FXFB
Poetic Form Quatrain  (75%)
Metre 1101010101 0111111111 1101110111 0111001111 1101010101 0111101101 1111010111 0111010101 1101011101 1101010101 1101000101 0101111111 1100110111 1111011101 0111010101 110101101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 621
Words 126
Sentences 7
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 119
Words per stanza (avg) 31
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

38 sec read
51

James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively. more…

All James Whitcomb Riley poems | James Whitcomb Riley Books

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    What is the term for the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.
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