Analysis of A Song Of Harvest
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807 (Haverhill) – 1892 (Hampton Falls)
This day, two hundred years ago,
The wild grape by the river's side,
And tasteless groundnut trailing low,
The table of the woods supplied.
Unknown the apple's red and gold,
The blushing tint of peach and pear;
The mirror of the Powow told
No tale of orchards ripe and rare.
Wild as the fruits he scorned to till,
These vales the idle Indian trod;
Nor knew the glad, creative skill,
The joy of him who toils with God.
O Painter of the fruits and flowers!
We thank Thee for thy wise design
Whereby these human hands of ours
In Nature's garden work with Thine.
And thanks that from our daily need
The joy of simple faith is born;
That he who smites the summer weed,
May trust Thee for the autumn corn.
Give fools their gold, and knaves their power;
Let fortune's bubbles rise and fall;
Who sows a field, or trains a flower,
Or plants a tree, is more than all.
For he who blesses most is blest;
And God and man shall own his worth
Who toils to leave as his bequest
An added beauty to the earth.
And, soon or late, to all that sow,
The time of harvest shall be given;
The flower shall bloom, the fruit shall grow,
If not on earth, at last in heaven
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ KLKL MNMN XOAO |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 11110101 01110101 0101101 01010101 01010101 01011101 0101011 11110101 11011111 110101001 11010101 01111111 110101010 11111101 011101110 01010111 011110101 01110111 11110101 11110101 111101110 11010101 110111010 11011111 11110111 01011111 11111101 11010101 01111111 011101110 010110111 111111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,134 |
Words | 228 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 111 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:09 min read
- 17 Views
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"A Song Of Harvest" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/55917/a-song-of-harvest>.
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