Analysis of Willie's and Nellie's Wish
Julia A Moore 1847 – 1920
Willie and Nellie, one evening sat
By their own little cottage door;
They saw a man go staggering by --
Says Willie, "that's Mr. Lanore;
He is just going home from town, where
He has been in a saloon.
When Maggie and I came from school,
Said Maggie, 'please papa, come home.'
"She asked him again, again, to come home.
At last he got angry, and said:
'Maggie, go home -- don't bother me so;
Go home now, and shut up your head.'
Poor girl, she came weeping all the way,
As though her poor heart would break.
She could not play, not a word would say;
With playmates no pleasure could take."
"'Tis the same child," Willie replied;
"I'm sorry for Maggie Lanore.
I wish her papa would sign the pledge,
And try to be a man once more.
He drinks up all the money he earns,
In whiskey, rum, gin and beer;
His home is a home of poverty,
Made so by his own career."
Says Nellie, "I wish Mr. Lanore
Would go to the meeting to-night,
And hear the temperance lecture;
Then perhaps he would try to do right.
One more little home of happiness,
Would be in our midst, I am sure;
Then Maggie Lanore could say with joy.
'My papa don't drink any more.'"
Said Nellie, "I told her never mind,
We would be her friends evermore;
I hoped her papa would sign the pledge,
Then he would not drink any more.
Then smiling through her tears, she said,
'The temperance pledge, you mean;
If papa would sign it, then mamma
And I will take comfort, I ween.'"
"I wonder," says Nellie, "can it be,
The same child I saw go to school?
She wore ragged clothes. I saw her toes
Were peeping out of her old shoes.
She has curly hair, and mild blue eyes;
Can this child be Maggie Lanore?
If it is her, I sincerely wish
Her papa won't drink any more."
Scheme | XAXAXBCD DEXEFGFG XAHAXIJI AKXKXXXA XAHAEXXB JCXXXAXA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 100101101 11110101 110111001 1101101 111101111 1110001 11001111 11011011 1110101111 11111001 101111011 11101111 111110101 1101111 111110111 1111011 10111001 1101101 110101101 01110111 111101011 0101101 111011100 1111101 11011101 11101011 01010010 101111111 111011100 110101111 11011111 11011101 110110101 1110110 110101101 11111101 11010111 0100111 110111110 01111011 110110111 01111111 111011101 01011011 111010111 1111101 111010101 01011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,668 |
Words | 341 |
Sentences | 22 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 212 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 55 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:41 min read
- 91 Views
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"Willie's and Nellie's Wish" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/24728/willie%27s-and-nellie%27s-wish>.
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