Analysis of It's_Got_To Be
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
'When it's _got_ to be,'--like! always say,
As I notice the years whiz past,
And know each day is a yesterday,
When we size it up, at last,--
Same as I said when my _boyhood_ went
And I knowed _we_ had to quit,--
'It's _got_ to be, and it's _goin'_ to be!'--
So I said 'Good-by' to _it_.
It's _got_ to be, and it's _goin'_ to be!
So at least I always try
To kind o' say in a hearty way,--
'Well, it's _got_ to be. Good-by!'
The time jes melts like a late, last snow,--
When it's _got_ to be, it melts!
But I aim to keep a cheerful mind,
Ef I can't keep nothin' else!
I knowed, when I come to twenty-one,
That I'd soon be twenty-two,--
So I waved one hand at the soft young man,
And I said, 'Good-by to _you_!'
It's _got_ to be, and it's _goin'_ to be!
So at least I always try
To kind o' say, in a cheerful way,--
'Well, it's _got_ to be.--Good-by!'
They kep' a-goin', the years and years,
Yet still I smiled and smiled,--
For I'd said 'Good-by' to my single life,
And I now had a wife and child:
Mother and son and the father--one,--
Till, last, on her bed of pain,
She jes' smiled up, like she always done,--
And I said 'Good-by' again.
It's _got_ to be, and it's _goin'_ to be!
So at least I always try
To kind o' say, in a humble way,--
'Well, it's _got_ to be. Good-by!'
And then my boy--as he growed to be
Almost a man in size,--
Was more than a pride and joy to me,
With his mother's smilin' eyes.--
He gimme the slip, when the War broke out,
And followed me. And I
Never knowed till the first right's end ...
I found him, and then, ... 'Good-by.'
It's _got_ to be, and it's _goin'_ to be!
So at least I always try
To kind o' say, in a patient way,
'Well, it's _got_ to be. Good-by!'
I have said, 'Good-by!--Good-by!--Good-by!'
With my very best good will,
All through life from the first,--and I
Am a cheerful old man still:
But it's _got_ to end, and it's _goin'_ to end!
And this is the thing I'll do,--
With my last breath I will laugh, O Death,
And say 'Good-by' to _you_!...
It's _got_ to be! And again I say,--
When his old scythe circles high,
I'll laugh--of course, in the kindest way,--
As I say 'Good-by!--Good-by!'
Scheme | ababxxCb CDaD xxxxefxg CDad xhxhexex CDaD cicixdjd CDaD dkdk jfxg adad |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (32%) |
Metre | 11111111 11100111 01111010 1111111 11111111 0111111 111101111 1111111 111101111 111111 111100101 1111111 011110111 1111111 111110101 1111101 111111101 1111101 1111110111 0111111 111101111 111111 111100101 1111111 11010101 111101 1111111101 01110101 100100101 1110111 11111111 0111101 111101111 111111 111100101 1111111 011111111 10101 111010111 111011 1100110111 010101 10110111 1110111 111101111 111111 111100101 1111111 111111111 1110111 11110101 1010111 1111101111 0110111 111111111 011111 111100111 1111101 111100101 1111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,082 |
Words | 451 |
Sentences | 33 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 8, 4, 8, 4, 8, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 60 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 134 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 38 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:22 min read
- 107 Views
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"It's_Got_To Be" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20928/it%27s_got_to-be>.
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