Analysis of For a' That and a' That
Robert Burns 1759 (Alloway) – 1796 (Dumfries)
1 Is there, for honest poverty,
2 That hings his head, an' a' that?
3 The coward slave, we pass him by,
4 We dare be poor for a' that!
5 For a' that, an' a' that,
6 Our toils obscure, an' a' that;
7 The rank is but the guinea's stamp;
8 The man's the gowd for a' that,
9 What tho' on hamely fare we dine,
10 Wear hoddin-gray, an' a' that;
11 Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine,
12 A man's a man for a' that.
13 For a' that, an' a' that,
14 Their tinsel show an' a' that;
15 The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor,
16 Is king o' men for a' that.
17 Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord
18 Wha struts, an' stares, an' a' that;
19 Tho' hundreds worship at his word,
20 He's but a coof for a' that:
21 For a' that, an' a' that,
22 His riband, star, an' a' that,
23 The man o' independent mind,
24 He looks and laughs at a' that.
25 A prince can mak a belted knight,
26 A marquis, duke, an' a' that;
27 But an honest man's aboon his might,
28 Guid faith he mauna fa' that!
29 For a' that, an' a' that,
30 Their dignities, an' a' that,
31 The pith o' sense, an' pride o' worth,
32 Are higher rank than a' that.
33 Then let us pray that come it may,
34 As come it will for a' that,
35 That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth,
36 May bear the gree, an' a' that.
37 For a' that, an' a' that,
38 It's coming yet, for a' that,
39 That man to man, the warld o'er,
40 Shall brothers be for a' that.
Scheme | XAXAAAXA BABAAAXA XAXAAAXA CACAAADA XADAAAXA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110100 1111101 01011111 1111101 101101 10101101 0111011 0101101 1111111 111101 11110111 0101101 101101 1101101 010111011 1111101 1111101 1111101 11010111 1101101 101101 111101 0110101 1101101 01110101 011101 11101111 1111011 101101 11101 01111111 1101101 11111111 1111101 110110001 1101101 101101 1101101 11110110 1101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,693 |
Words | 304 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 16 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 191 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 128 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 24, 2023
- 1:34 min read
- 261 Views
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"For a' That and a' That" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 Sep. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/30495/for-a%27-that-and-a%27-that>.
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