Analysis of Save the Boys
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper 1825 – 1911
Like Dives in the deeps of Hell
I cannot break this fearful spell,
Nor quench the fires I've madly nursed,
Nor cool this dreadful raging thirst.
Take back your pledge--ye come too late!
Ye cannot save me from my fate,
Nor bring me back departed joys;
But ye can try to save the boys.
Ye bid me break my fiery chain,
Arise and be a man again,
When every street with snares is spread,
And nets of sin where'er I tread.
No; I must reap as I did sow.
The seeds of sin bring crops of woe;
But with my latest breath I'll crave
That ye will try the boys to save.
These bloodshot eyes were once so bright;
This sin-crushed heart was glad and light;
But by the wine-cup's ruddy glow
I traced a path to shame and woe.
A captive to my galling chain,
I've tried to rise, but tried in vain -
The cup allures and then destroys.
Oh! from its thraldom save the boys.
Take from your streets those traps of hell
Into whose gilded snares I fell.
Oh! freemen, from these foul decoys
Arise, and vote to save the boys.
Oh ye who license men to trade
In draughts that charm and then degrade,
Before ye hear the cry, Too late,
Oh, save the boys from my sad fate.
Scheme | AABBCCDD EXFFXGHH IIGGEEDD AADDJJCC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1100111 11011101 110101101 11110101 11111111 11011111 11110101 11111101 111111001 01010101 110011111 01111011 11111111 01111111 11110111 11110111 1110111 11111101 11011101 11011101 01011101 11111101 0110101 1111101 11111111 01110111 11011110 01011101 11110111 01110101 01110111 11011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,117 |
Words | 226 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 218 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 56 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:09 min read
- 76 Views
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"Save the Boys" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13745/save-the-boys>.
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