Analysis of The Apple-Tree
Ann Taylor 1782 (Islington) – 1866
OLD John had an apple-tree, healthy and green,
Which bore the best codlins that ever were seen,
So juicy, so mellow, and red;
And when they were ripe, he disposed of his store,
To children or any who pass'd by his door,
To buy him a morsel of bread.
Little Dick, his next neighbour, one often might see,
With longing eye viewing this fine apple-tree,
And wishing a codlin might fall:
One day as he stood in the heat of the sun,
He began thinking whether he might not take one,
And then he look'd over the wall.
And as he again cast his eye on the tree,
He said to himself, 'Oh, how nice they would be,
So cool and refreshing to-day!
The tree is so full, and one only I'll take,
And John cannot see if I give it a shake,
And nobody is in the way.
But stop, little boy, take your hand from the bough,
Remember, though John cannot see you just now,
And no one to chide you is nigh,
There is One, who by night, just as well as by day,
Can see all you do, and can hear all you say,
From his glorious throne in the sky.
O then little boy, come away from the tree,
Lest tempted to this wicked act you should be:
'Twere better to starve than to steal;
For the great GOD, who even through darkness can look,
Writes down every crime we commit, in His book;
Nor forgets what we try to conceal.
Scheme | AABCCB DDEFFE DDGHHG IIJGGJ DDKLLK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11111011001 1101111001 11011001 01101101111 11011011111 11101011 10111111011 11011011101 01001011 11111001101 101101011111 01111001 01101111101 11101111111 11001011 01111011011 01101111101 011001 11101111101 01011101111 01111111 111111111111 11111011111 111001001 11101101101 11011101111 11011111 101111011011 111001101011 101111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,274 |
Words | 258 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 194 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 51 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:18 min read
- 114 Views
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"The Apple-Tree" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2950/the-apple-tree>.
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