Analysis of The Tulip Bed At Greeley Square
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
You know that oasis, fresh and fair
In the city desert, as Greeley square?
That bright triangle of scented bloom
That lies surrounded by grime and gloom?
Right in the breast of the seething town
Like a gleaming gem or a wanton’s gown?
Ah, wonderful things that tulip bed
Unto my listening soul has said.
Over the rattle and roar of the street
I hear a chorus of voices sweet,
Day and night, when I pass that way,
And these are the things the voices say:
“Here, in the heart of the foolish strife,
We live a simple and natural life.
“Here, in the midst of the clash and din,
We know what it is to be calm within.
“Here, environed by sin and shame,
We do what we can with our pure white flame.
“We do what we can with our bloom and grace,
To make the city a fairer place.
“It is well to be good though the world is vile,
And so through the dust and the smoke we smile,
“We are but atoms in chaos tossed,
Yet never a purpose for truth was lost.”
Ah, many a sermon is uttered there
By the bed of blossoms in Greeley square.
And he who listens and hears aright,
Is better equipped for the world’s hard fight.
Scheme | AA BB CC DD EE FF GG HH II JJ KK LL AA DX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111010101 0010101101 11101101 110101101 100110101 101011011 110011101 101100111 1001001101 110101101 10111111 011010101 100110101 1101001001 100110101 1111111101 111101 11111110111 11111110101 110100101 11111110111 0110100111 111100101 1100101111 1100101101 1011100101 01110011 1100110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,116 |
Words | 221 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 14 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 61 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 16 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:06 min read
- 47 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Tulip Bed At Greeley Square" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10918/the-tulip-bed-at-greeley-square>.
Discuss this Ella Wheeler Wilcox poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In