Analysis of Upon the Sand
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
All love that has not friendship for its base,
Is like a mansion built upon the sand.
Though brave its walls as any in the land,
And its tall turrets lift their heads in grace;
Though skillful and accomplished artists trace
Most beautiful designs on every hand,
And gleaming statues in dim niches stand,
And mountains play in some flow'r-hidden place:
Yet, when from the frowning east a sudden gust
Of adverse fate is blown, or sad rains fall
Day in, day out, against its yielding wall,
Lo! the fair structure crumbles to the dust.
Love, to endure life's sorrow and earth's woe,
Needs friendship's solid masonwork below.
Scheme | ABBAABBA CDDCEE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Petrarchan sonnet |
Metre | 1111110111 1101010101 1111110001 0111011101 1100010101 11000111001 010101101 01010111101 11101010101 1011111111 1011011101 1011010101 1101110011 1110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 615 |
Words | 110 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 246 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 54 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 102 Views
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"Upon the Sand" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10973/upon-the-sand>.
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