Analysis of Is It Best?
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
O mother who sips sweetened liquors!
Look down at the child on your breast;
Think, think of the rough path before him,
And ask yourself then, 'Is it best?
Shall I foster a love for this poison,
Instil the thirst into his veins?
In the fountain he seeks at my bosom
Sow the rank seeds of death, grief, and pains?
'Shall I give him the thirst of the drunkard,
Bequeath him the weapons of crime?
Can we look for a glass of pure water
Dipped up from a fountain of slime?
Can we look for brave men, strong and noble,
Where the parents drink poison for food?
When the body and soul are corrupted,
Can we look for the works to be good?'
Oh! think of the future before him!
There are perils you cannot remove.
Yet this, the great highway of sorrow-
Oh! guard him from this with your love.
There are rough paths enough in the future
For the feet of the child on your breast;
And lower the glass you are lifting,
And ask yourself, then, 'Is it best?'
Scheme | xabAxcxc xdedxxxx bxxxeaxA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110111010 11101111 111011011 01011111 1110011110 1010111 0010111110 101111101 1111011010 01101011 1111011110 11101011 1111111010 101011011 1010011010 111101111 111010011 111011001 11011110 11111111 1111010010 101101111 010011110 01011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 925 |
Words | 186 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 241 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 61 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 55 sec read
- 103 Views
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"Is It Best?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10668/is-it-best%3F>.
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