Analysis of A Curious Story
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
I heard such a curious story
Of Santa Claus: once, so they say,
He set out to see what people were kind,
Before he took presents their way.
'This year I will give but to givers,
To those who make presents themselves,'
With a nod of his head old Santa Claus said
To his band of bright officer-elves.
'Go into the homes of the happy
Where pleasure stands page at the door.
Watch well how they live, and report what they give
To the hordes of God's suffering poor.
Keep track of each cent and each moment;
Yes, tell me each word, too, they use:
To silver line clouds for earth's suffering crowds,
And tell me, too, when they refuse.'
So into our homes flew the fairies,
Though never a soul of us knew,
And with pencil and book they sat by and took
Each action, if false, or if true.
White marks for the deeds done for others -
Black marks for the deeds done for self.
And nobody hid what he said or he did,
For no one, of course, sees an elf.
Well, Christmas came all in its season,
And Santa Claus, so I am told,
With a very light pack of small gifts on his back,
And his reindeers all left in the fold,
Set out on a leisurely journey,
And finished ere midnight, they say.
And there never had been such surprise and chagrin
Before on the breaking of day,
As there was on that bright Christmas morning
When stockings, and cupboards, and shelves
Were ransacked and sought in, for gifts that were not in -
But wasn't it fun for the elves!
And what did I get? You confuse me -
I got not one thing, and that's true;
But had I suspected my actions detected
I would have had gifts, wouldn't you?
Scheme | ABXBCDXD AXXXXXXX XEXECFXF XGXGABHB XDHDAEXE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) Etheree (20%) |
Metre | 111010010 11011111 1111111001 01111011 111111110 11111001 10111111011 111111001 101011010 11011101 11111001111 101111001 111110110 11111111 11011111001 01111101 1011011010 11001111 01100111101 11011111 111011110 11101111 011111111 11111111 110110110 01011111 101011111111 01111001 111010010 0101111 011011101001 01101011 1111111010 11001001 01010111010 11011101 011111011 11111011 111010110010 11111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,564 |
Words | 315 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 243 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 62 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:35 min read
- 13 Views
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"A Curious Story" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/55124/a-curious-story>.
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