Analysis of Integrity
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
Immortal life is something to be earned,
By slow, self-conquest, comradeship with pain,
And patient seeking after higher truths.
We cannot follow our own wayward wills
And feed our baser appetites and give
Loose reins to foolish tempers, year on year,
And then cry, 'Lord, forgive me, I believe --'
And straightway bathe in glory. Men must learn
God's system is too great a thing for that;
The spark divine dwells in each soul, and we
Can fan it to a steady flame of light,
Whose lustre guilds the pathway of the tomb
And shines on through eternity, or else
Neglect it till it simmers down to death
And leaves us but the darkness of the grave.
Each conquered passion feeds the living flame;
Each well-borne sorrow is a step toward God.
Faith cannot rescue, and no blood redeem
The soul that will not reason and resolve.
Lean on thyself, yet prop thyself with prayer,
For these are spirits, messengers of light,
Who come at call and fortify thy strength,
Make friends with thee and with thine inner self,
Cast out all envy, bitterness, and hate.
And keep the mind's fair tabernacle pure;
Shake hands with Pain, give greeting unto Grief,
Those angels in disguise and thy glad soul,
From light to light from star to shining star,
Shall climb and claim blest immortality.'
Scheme | ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTKUVWXYZ1 J |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101110111 11110111 0101010101 11010101101 0110101001 1111010111 0111011101 011010111 1101110111 0101101101 1111010111 110101101 0111010011 0111110111 0111010101 1101010101 11110101011 1101001101 0111110001 11111111 1111010011 111101011 1111011101 1111010001 010111001 1111110101 1100010111 1111111101 110110100 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,248 |
Words | 227 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 29 |
Lines Amount | 29 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,001 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 224 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:08 min read
- 70 Views
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"Integrity" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10665/integrity>.
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