Analysis of Baby's First Journey
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
Lightly they hold him and lightly they sway him-
Soft as a pillow are somebody's arms.
Down he goes slowly, ever so lowly
Over the rim of the cradle they lay him-
Baby's first journey is free from alarms.
Baby is growing while Mama sings by-lo,
Sturdy and rosy and laughing and fair,
Crowing and growing past every one's knowing,
Out goes the cradle and in comes the 'high-lo,'
Baby's next journey is into this chair.
Crying or cooing or waking or sleeping,
Baby is ever a thing to adore.
Look at him yonder-oh what a wonder,
Who would believe it, the darling is creeping,
Baby's next journey is over the floor.
Sweeter and cuter and brighter and stronger,
Mama can see every day how he's grown.
Shoes are all battered, stockings all tattered,
Oh! but the baby is baby no longer
Look at the fellow-he's walking alone!
Scheme | ABXAB CDECD EFGEF GHXGH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 10111010111 110101101 1111010110 10011010111 1011011101 10110110111 1001001001 100101100110 11010001011 1011010111 10110110110 1011001101 1111011010 11011010110 1011011001 10010010010 10111001111 1111010110 11010110110 1101011001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 806 |
Words | 151 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 159 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 37 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 47 sec read
- 140 Views
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"Baby's First Journey" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10542/baby%27s-first-journey>.
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