Analysis of Davis Matlock
Edgar Lee Masters 1868 (Garnett) – 1950 (Elkins Park)
Suppose it is nothing but the hive:
That there are drones and workers
And queens, and nothing but storing honey --
(Material things as well as culture and wisdom) --
For the next generation, this generation never living,
Except as it swarms in the sun-light of youth,
Strengthening its wings on what has been gathered,
And tasting, on the way to the hive
From the clover field, the delicate spoil.
Suppose all this, and suppose the truth:
That the nature of man is greater
Than nature's need in the hive;
And you must bear the burden of life,
As well as the urge from your spirit's excess --
Well, I say to live it out like a god
Sure of immortal life, though you are in doubt,
Is the way to live it.
If that doesn't make God proud of you,
Then God is nothing but gravitation,
Or sleep is the golden goal.
Scheme | ABCDEFGAHFIAJKLMNOPQ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) Etheree (20%) |
Metre | 011110101 1111010 0101011010 0100111110010 10101010101010 01111001111 10011111110 010101101 1010101001 011100101 101011110 1101001 011101011 1110111101 1111111101 11010111101 101111 111011111 111101010 1110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 794 |
Words | 155 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 20 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 621 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 153 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 47 sec read
- 49 Views
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"Davis Matlock" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/8541/davis-matlock>.
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