Analysis of Older Than You
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
We are younger in years! Yes, that is true;
But in some things we are older than you.
For instance, you sometimes say with a smile,
'It will do to drink wine once in a while.'
We say, 'It will not do at all!'
Wine is an imp of old Alcohol.
So are gin and beer, and cider, too.
If you drink up them, they will eat up you.
'Cider is not a strong drink,' you say.
Ah! but, my friend, it opens the way
For brandy and whiskey to follow fast.
It has done it many a time in the past.
It tempts and teases the appetite.
Let it alone, boys, keep to the right;
Onward and upward we mean to go.
Heaven is reached that way, you know.
People who drink are behind the time.
They are back with darkness, and woe, and crime.
This age is progressive. You people who drink,
Though ever so little, just pause and think-
Think of the anguish that liquor makes;
Think of the hearts that it burdens and breaks.
Let it alone: stop drinking to-day-
This is what we, the children, say.
Scheme | AABBXXAA CCDDEEFF GGHHIICC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1110011111 1011111011 1101011101 1111111001 11111111 11111110 111010101 1111111111 101101111 111111001 1100101101 11111001001 11010010 110111101 100101111 10111111 101110101 1111100101 11101011011 1101101101 110101101 1101111001 110111011 11110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 945 |
Words | 196 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 240 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 64 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 105 Views
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"Older Than You" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10732/older-than-you>.
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