Analysis of A Song For Labor

Madison Julius Cawein 1865 ( Louisville, Kentucky) – 1914 ( Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky)



Oh, the morning meads, the dewy meads,
Where he ploughs and harrows and sows the seeds,
Singing a song of manly deeds,
In the blossoming springtime weather;
The heart in his bosom as high as the word
Said to the sky by the mating bird,
While the beat of an answering heart is heard,
His heart and love's together.

Oh, the noonday heights, the sunny heights,
Where he stoops to the harvest his keen scythe smites,
Singing a song of the work that requites,
In the ripening summer weather;
The soul in his body as light as the sigh
Of the little cloud-breeze that cools the sky,
While he hears an answering soul reply,
His soul and love's together.

Oh, the evening vales, the twilight vales,
Where he labors and sweats to the thud of flails,
Singing a song of the toil that avails,
In the fruitful autumn weather;
In heart and in soul as free from fears
As the first white star in the sky that clears,
While the music of life and of love he hears,
Of life and of love together.


Scheme AAABCCCB XAABDDDB XAABEEXB
Poetic Form
Metre 101010101 111010101 10011101 00100110 01011011101 110110101 10111100111 1101010 10110101 11110101111 100110111 001001010 01011011101 1010111101 1111100101 1101010 10101011 11100110111 100110111 00101010 010011111 1011100111 10101101111 11011010
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 966
Words 188
Sentences 6
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 254
Words per stanza (avg) 61
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

57 sec read
66

Madison Julius Cawein

Madison Julius Cawein (March 23, 1865 – December 8, 1914) was a poet from Louisville, Kentucky. more…

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