Analysis of Sonnet

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919



Methinks ofttimes my heart is like some bee
That goes forth through the summer day and sings,
And gathers honey from all growing things
In garden plot, or on the clover lea.
When the long afternoon grows late, and she
Would seek her hive, she cannot lift her wings,
So heavily the too sweet burden clings,
From which she would not, and yet would, fly free.
So with my full fond heart; for when it tries
To lift itself to peace-crowned heights, above
The common way where countless feet have trod.
Lo! then, this burden of dear human ties,
This growing weight of precious earthly love,
Binds down the spirit that would soar to God.


Scheme ABBAABBACDECDE
Poetic Form
Metre 11111111 1111010101 0101011101 0101110101 101011101 1101110101 1100011101 1111101111 1111111111 1101111101 0101110111 1111011101 1101110101 1101011111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 625
Words 117
Sentences 6
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 36
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 497
Words per stanza (avg) 115
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
120

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet. more…

All Ella Wheeler Wilcox poems | Ella Wheeler Wilcox Books

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