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 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 38 sec read
- 51 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Plain Sermons" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/21007/plain-sermons>.
Discuss this James Whitcomb Riley poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In