Analysis of Smiles
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
Smile a little, smile a little,
As you go along,
Not alone when life is pleasant,
But when things go wrong.
Care delights to see you frowning,
Loves to hear you sigh;
Turn a smiling face upon her –
Quick the dame will fly.
Smile a little, smile a little,
All along the road;
Every life must have its burden,
Every heart its load.
Why sit down in gloom and darkness
With your grief to sup?
As you drink Fate’s bitter tonic,
Smile across the cup.
Smile upon the troubled pilgrims
Whom you pass and meet;
Frowns are thorns, and smiles are blossoms
Oft for weary feet.
Do not make the way seem harder
By a sullen face;
Smile a little, smile a little,
Brighten up the place.
Smile upon your undone labour;
Not for one who grieves
O’er his task waits wealth or glory;
He who smiles achieves.
Though you meet with loss and sorrow
In the passing years,
Smile a little, smile a little,
Even through your tears.
Scheme | Abxbxcdc Aexexfxf ghghdiAi xjxjxxAx |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10101010 11101 10111110 11111 10111110 11111 10101010 10111 10101010 10101 100111110 100111 11101010 11111 11111010 10101 10101010 11101 11101110 11101 11101110 10101 10101010 10101 1011011 11111 11111110 11101 11111010 00101 10101010 10111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 916 |
Words | 172 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 175 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 43 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 27, 2023
- 51 sec read
- 130 Views
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"Smiles" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10789/smiles>.
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