Analysis of A Christmas Greeting
Edgar Albert Guest 1881 (Birmingham) – 1959 (Detroit, Michigan)
Here's to you, little mother,
With your boy so far away;
May the joy of service smother
All your grief this Christmas day;
May the magic of his splendor
Thrill your spirit through and through
And may all that's fine and tender
Make a smiling day for you.
May you never know the sadness
That from day to day you dread;
May you never find but gladness
In the Flag that's overhead;
May the good God watch above him
As he stands to duty stern,
And at last to all who love him
May he have a safe return.
Little mother, take the blessing
Of a grateful nation's heart;
May the news that is distressing
Never cause your tears to start;
May there be no fears to haunt you,
And no lonely hours and sad;
May your trials never daunt you,
But may every day be glad.
Little Mother, could I do it,
This my Christmas gift would be:
That he'd safely battle through it,
This to you I'd guarantee.
And I'd pledge to you this morning
Joys to banish all your cares,
Gifts of gold and silver scorning,
I would answer all your prayers.
Scheme | ABABACAC DEDEFGFG HIHICJCJ KLKLHMHM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111010 1111101 10111010 1111101 10101110 1110101 01111010 1010111 11101010 1111111 1110111 0011101 10111011 1111101 01111111 1110101 10101010 1010101 10111010 1011111 11111111 01101001 11101011 11100111 10101111 1110111 11101011 111101 01111110 1110111 1110101 1110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 989 |
Words | 197 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 197 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 49 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:01 min read
- 109 Views
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"A Christmas Greeting" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/8390/a-christmas-greeting>.
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