Analysis of The Burdens of All



We may sigh o'er the heavy burdens
Of the black, the brown and white;
But if we all clasped hands together
The burdens would be more light.
How to solve life's saddest problems,
Its weariness, want and woe,
Was answered by One who suffered
In Palestine long ago.

He gave from his heart this precept,
To ease the burdens of men,
"As ye would that others do to you
Do ye even so to them."
Life's heavy, wearisome burdens
Will change to a gracious trust
When men shall learn in the light of God
To be merciful and just.

Where war has sharpened his weapons,
And slavery masterful had,
Let white and black and brown unite
To build the kingdom of God.
And never attempt in madness
To build a kingdom or state,
Through greed of gold or lust of power,
On the crumbling stones of hate.

The burdens will always he heavy,
The sunshine fade into night,
Till mercy and justice shall cement
The black, the brown and the white.
And earth shall answer with gladness,
The herald angel's refrain,
When "Peace on earth, good will to men"
Was the burden of their strain.


Scheme ABCBXDXD XEXXAFGF AXBGXHCH XBXBAIEI
Poetic Form
Metre 1111001010 1010101 111111010 0101111 11111010 1100101 11011110 010101 1111111 1101011 111110111 1110111 11010010 1110101 111100111 1110001 11110110 01001001 1101011 1101011 01001010 1101011 111111110 10100111 01011110 011011 110010101 0101001 0111011 010101 11111111 1010111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,058
Words 198
Sentences 9
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 206
Words per stanza (avg) 49
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:00 min read
43

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper born to free parents in Baltimore Maryland was an African American abolitionist and poet more…

All Frances Ellen Watkins Harper poems | Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Books

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