Analysis of What Had He Done?

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919



I saw the farmer, when the day was done,
And the proud sun had sought his crimson bed,
And the mild stars came forward one by one-
I saw the sturdy farmer, and I said:
'What have you done to-day,
O farmer! say?'

'Oh! I have sown the wheat in yonder field,
And pruned my orchard to increase its yield,
And turned the furrow for a patch of corn:
This have I done, with other things, since morn.'

I saw the blacksmith in his smithy-door,
When day had vanished and the west grew red,
And all the busy noise and strife were o'er-
I saw the kingly blacksmith, and I said:
'What have you done to-day,
O blacksmith! say?

'Oh! I have made two plough-shares all complete,
And nailed the shoes on many horses' feet;
And-O my friend! I cannot tell you half,'
The man of muscle answered, with a laugh.

I saw the miller, when the day had gone,
And all the sunlight from the hills had fled,
And tender shadows crept across the lawn-
I saw the trusty miller, and I said:
'What have you done to-day,
O miller gray?'

'Oh! I have watched my mill from morn to night,
And never saw yon flour so snowy white.
And many are the mouths to-day I've fed,
I ween,' the merry miller laughed and said.

I saw another, when the night grew nigh,
And turned each daily toiler from his task,
When gold and crimson banners decked the sky-
I saw another, and I paused to ask:
'What have you done to-day,
Rumseller, say?'

But the rumseller turned with dropping head,
And not a single word in answer said.
What had he done? His work he knew full well
Was plunging human souls in deepest hell.

Alas! rumseller, on that awful day,
When death shall call you, and your race is run,
How can you answer? What can you hope to say?
When God shall ask you, 'What have you done?'
How can you meet the eye
Of the Most High?

When night approaches and the day grows late,
Think you to find the way to heaven's gate?
Think you to dwell with souls of righteous men?
Think you to enter in? If not, what then?


Scheme ababCc ddee xbxbCc ffgg hbhbCc iibb jkjkCc bbll cacajj mmnn
Poetic Form Etheree  (36%)
Metre 1101010111 0011111101 0011110111 1101010011 111111 1101 1111010101 0111010111 0101010111 1111110111 11010111 1111000111 01010101010 110101011 111111 111 1111111101 0101110101 0111110111 0111010101 1101010111 010110111 010110101 1101010011 111111 1101 1111111111 01011101101 0101011111 1101010101 1101010111 011101111 1101010101 1101001111 111111 11 10111101 0101010101 1111111111 1101010101 01111101 1111101111 11110111111 111111111 111101 1011 1101000111 1111011101 1111111101 1111001111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,912
Words 386
Sentences 27
Stanzas 10
Stanza Lengths 6, 4, 6, 4, 6, 4, 6, 4, 6, 4
Lines Amount 50
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 148
Words per stanza (avg) 38
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:54 min read
88

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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