Analysis of The Traveled Man
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
Sometimes I wish the railroads all were torn out,
The ships all sunk among the coral strands.
I am so very weary, yea, so worn out,
With tales of those who visit foreign lands.
When asked to dine, to meet these traveled people,
My soup seems brewed from cemetery bones.
The fish grows cold on some cathedral steeple,
I miss two courses while I stare at thrones.
I'm forced to leave my salad quite untasted,
Some musty, moldy temple to explore.
The ices, fruit and coffee all are wasted
While into realms of ancient art I soar.
I'd rather take my chance of life and reason,
If in a den of roaring lions hurled
Than for a single year, ay, for one season,
To dwell with folks who'd traveled round the world.
So patronizing are they, so oppressive,
With pity for the ones who stay at home,
So mighty is their knowledge, so aggressive,
I ofttimes wish they had not ceased to roam.
They loathe the new, they quite detest the present;
They revel in a pre-Columbian morn;
Just dare to say America is pleasant,
And die beneath the glances of their scorn.
They are increasing at a rate alarming,
Go where I will, the traveled man is there.
And now I think that rustic wholly charming
Who has not strayed beyond his meadows fair.
Scheme | ABAB CXCB ADXD EFEF GHGH IJIJ KLKL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 0111011011 0111010101 11110101111 1111110101 11111111010 111111001 01111101010 1111011111 111111011 1101010101 01010101110 1011110111 11011111010 1001110101 11010111110 1111110101 1100111010 1101011111 11011101010 111111111 11011101010 1100011001 11110100110 0101010111 11010101010 1111010111 01111101010 111101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,220 |
Words | 227 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 136 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 32 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:09 min read
- 128 Views
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