Analysis of Two Sinners
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
There was a man, it was said one time,
Who went astray in his youthful prime.
Can the brain keep cool and the heart keep quiet
When the blood is a river that’s running riot?
And boys will be boys the old folks say,
And the man is better who’s had his day.
The sinner reformed; and the preacher told
Of the prodigal son who came back to the fold.
And Christian people threw open the door,
With a warmer welcome than ever before.
Wealth and honour were his to command,
And a spotless woman gave him her hand.
And the world strewed their pathway with blossoms aboom,
Crying ‘God bless ladye, and God bless groom! ’
There was a maiden who went astray
In the golden dawn of her life’s young day.
She had more passion and heart than head,
And she followed blindly where fond Love led,
And Love unchecked is a dangerous guide
To wander at will by a fair girl’s side.
The woman repented and turned from sin,
But no door opened to let her in.
The preacher prayed that she might be forgiven,
But told her to look for mercy – in Heaven.
For this is the law of the earth, we know:
That the woman is stoned, while the man may go.
A brave man weddded her after all,
But the world said, frowning, ‘We shall not call.’
Scheme | AABBCC DDEEFF AX CCGGHH IIJJ KK LL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110111111 110101101 10111001110 101101011010 011110111 0011101111 0100100101 101001111101 0101011001 10101011001 10101101 0010101101 0011111101 101110111 110101101 0010110111 111100111 0110101111 0101101001 1101110111 0100100111 111101100 01011111010 11011110010 1110110111 10101110111 01110101 1011101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,213 |
Words | 237 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 2, 6, 4, 2, 2 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 133 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:11 min read
- 93 Views
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"Two Sinners" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10965/two-sinners>.
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