Analysis of Alcohol's Requiem Upon Prof. P. F. K., A Gifted Man, Who Died A Victim Of Strong Drink
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
Ho! ho! Father Death! I have won you another!
Another grand soul I have ruined and taken;
I, who am licensed by good Christian people,
Eat and eat at their souls till by angels forsaken:
I spoil them, I soil them, and past all reclaiming
They fall, sick with sins that are too black for naming.
Ho! ho! Father Death! count me as your best man:
I bring you more souls than famine or battle.
Let pestilence rage! it will last but a season,
And the soft voice of peace stills the cannon's loud rattle;
But I, pausing never, with ceaseless endeavor,
Night and day, day and night, I am toiling for ever.
Ho! ho! Father Death! I have brought you my thousands:
Good people help me, license, uphold me,
Gaze on some victim I stole from their household-
Gaze, and upbraid the foul demon that sold me.
Ah! but they helped him-argued and voted
Till license was granted, and I was promoted.
Ho! ho! Father Death! is he not a grand victim?
I bring you souls that are well worth the winning-
Noble and brave, with the rare gifts of heaven;
But I eat them away and pollute them with sinning.
Now, but for me there would be few above him,
Honored and prized by the dear ones who love him.
Scheme | ABCBDD XCBCAA XEXEFF XDBDGG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111011111010 010111110010 11110111010 1011111110010 111111011010 111111111110 11101111111 11111110110 110011111010 0011111010110 111010110010 1011011110110 111011111110 1101110011 1111011111 1010110111 1111110010 110110011010 111011110110 11111111010 10011011110 1111010011110 11111111011 10011011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,157 |
Words | 224 |
Sentences | 24 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 37 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 225 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 56 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:07 min read
- 88 Views
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"Alcohol's Requiem Upon Prof. P. F. K., A Gifted Man, Who Died A Victim Of Strong Drink" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10511/alcohol%27s-requiem-upon-prof.-p.-f.-k.%2C-a-gifted-man%2C-who-died-a-victim-of-strong-drink>.
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