Analysis of Shadows on the Floor
Henry Clay Work 1832 (Middletown, Connecticut) – 1884 (Hartford, Connecticut)
Saturday night! Saturday night!
The hope that lingered has taken to flight;
From morning till evening, the weary week through,
In vain has he battled for something to do.
Poor man! emptyhanded, how can he return
To those whose fate hangs on the pence he may earn?
How can he reply to his questioner sweet --
"Did Papa bring Papa's girl somethin' to eat?"
Out of employ! out of employ!
Distress in the cottage where once there was joy;
How frightful the shadows that fall on the floor
When Want and Starvation appear at the door!
Wasting away! Wasting away!
His poor wife grows paler each sorrowful day,
Yet suffers in silence, and never complains, --
Reserving for others the crust that remains.
His fearful forebodings he seeks to disguise;
But now the child's prattle brings tears to his eyes;
"If Ma doze to Heaven den I mus' do, too;
But Pa, I'll frow down bread and butter for you."
Struggling for life! Struggling for life!
In spite of his courage bourne down in the strife;
Had not he the wife and the baby to save,
How willingly would be he down in the grave!
Reflections more later creep into his mind --
The promise is false, "If ye seek ye shall find."
What was it his dear little innocent said?
"Does Dod fordits us when He takes daily bread!"
Scheme | AABBCCDD EEFF GGHHIIBB JJKKLLMM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10011001 0111011011 11011001011 01111011011 11111101 11111101111 11101111001 110111111 11011101 01001011111 1100111101 11001001101 10011001 1111111001 11001001001 01011001101 110111101 11011011111 11111011111 11111101011 1001110011 01111011001 11101001011 11001111001 01011010111 01011111111 11111101001 1111111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,236 |
Words | 236 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 243 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 58 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:10 min read
- 88 Views
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