Analysis of What I Have Seen #5
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
I saw a Christian, a temperance man,
Casting his ballot one day at the polls:
One who believes he does what he can
Toward the reclaiming and saving of souls.
And may be he does-may be he does!
I don't say he doesn't, but may be he does!
I saw his candidate sipping his beer,
Wiping his moustache and lapping his jaws;
And I said to myself, 'It's decidedly queer,
If this is the man that should help make our laws.'
But may be he is-may be he is!
I won't say it outright, but may be he is!
I saw an old drunkard fall in the street:
I saw my Christian man mournfully pass,
And mournfully say to the sot at his feet:
'I have done what I could for such wrecks, but, alas!'
Well, may be he had-may be he had!
I don't say he hadn't, but may be he had!
I know a party that's forming to-day,
Made out of men that are loyal and brave:
They will sweep liquor taxes and tariffs away,
For they never will vote for a drinking old knave.
You see if they do! you see if they do!
I don't say I know, but you see if they do!
Scheme | ABABCC DEDEFF GHGHII JKJKLL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101001001 1011011101 110111111 01001001011 011111111 11111011111 1111001011 101101011 0111111001 111011111101 111111111 11111111111 1111101001 11110111 011101111 111111111101 111111111 11111011111 1101011011 1111111001 111101001001 111011101011 1111111111 11111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 992 |
Words | 212 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 188 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 52 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:05 min read
- 87 Views
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"What I Have Seen #5" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10987/what-i-have-seen-%235>.
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