Analysis of Independence Ode
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
Columbia, fair queen in your glory!
Columbia, the pride of the earth!
We crown you with song- wreath and story;
We honour the day of your birth!
The wrath of a king and his minions
You braved, to be free, on that day;
And the eagle sailed up on strong pinions,
And frightened the lion at bay.
Since the chains and the shackles are broken,
And citizens now replace slaves,
Since the hearts of your heros have spoken
How dear they held freedom - by graves.
Your beautiful banner is blotless
As it floats to the breezes unfurled,
And but for one blemish, all spotless
Is the record you show to the world.
Like a scar on the features of beauty,
Lies Utah, sin-cursed to the west.
Columbia! Columbia! your duty
Is to wipe out that stain with the rest!
Not only in freedom, and science,
And letters, should you lead the earth;
But let the earth learn your reliance
In honour and true moral worth.
When Liberty's torch shall be lighted,
Let her brightest most far-reaching rays
Discover no wrong thats unrighted -
Go challenge the jealous world's gaze!
Columbia, your star is ascending!
Columbia, all lands own your sway!
May your reign be as proud and unrending
As your glory is brilliant today.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF CGXG AHAH IBIB XJDJ KDKD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 0100110110 010001101 111111010 1101111 011010110 11111111 001011111 01001011 1010010110 0100111 1011110110 11111011 11001011 111101001 011110110 100111101 1011010110 1111101 01000100110 111111101 110010010 01011101 110111010 0101101 110011110 101011101 0101111 11001011 0100111010 010011111 11111101 111011001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,199 |
Words | 217 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 117 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:05 min read
- 129 Views
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"Independence Ode" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10662/independence-ode>.
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