Analysis of The Butterfly

Ann Taylor 1782 (Islington) – 1866



THE Butterfly, an idle thing,
Nor honey makes, nor yet can sing,
As do the bee and bird;
Nor does it, like the prudent ant,
Lay up the grain for times of want,
A wise and cautious hoard.

My youth is but a summer's day:
Then like the bee and ant I'll lay
A store of learning by;
And though from flower to flower I rove,
My stock of wisdom I'll improve
Nor be a butterfly.


Scheme AAXXXX BBCXXC
Poetic Form
Metre 0101101 11011111 110101 11110101 11011111 010101 11110101 11010111 011101 0111011011 11110101 11010
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 371
Words 78
Sentences 3
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 6, 6
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 140
Words per stanza (avg) 38
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 28, 2023

24 sec read
352

Ann Taylor

Ann Taylor is the former wife of Clifton Davis. more…

All Ann Taylor poems | Ann Taylor Books

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