Analysis of East And West

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919



The Day has never understood the Gloaming or the Night;
Though sired by one Creative Power, and nursed at Nature's breast;
The White Man ever fails to read the Dark Man's heart aright;
Though from the self-same Source they came, upon the self-same quest;
So deep and wide, the Great Divide,
Between the East and West.

But like a shadow on a screen, mine eyes behold, above
The yawning gulf, a dim forecast, of structures strong and broad;
Where caste, and colour prejudice, by countless feet down trod,
With old traditions crushed by Time, pave smooth the bridge of Love;
And all the creed that men shall heed
Is consciousness of God.


Scheme ABABXB CXDCXD
Poetic Form
Metre 0111001010101 111101010011101 0111011101111 11011111010111 11010101 010101 1101101110101 0101011110101 1101100110111 11010111110111 01011111 110011
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 631
Words 114
Sentences 3
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 6, 6
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 42
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 250
Words per stanza (avg) 56
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

34 sec read
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Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet. more…

All Ella Wheeler Wilcox poems | Ella Wheeler Wilcox Books

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