Analysis of The Sum
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
A little dreaming by the way,
A little toiling day by day;
A little pain, a little strife,
A little joy,--and that is life.
A little short-lived summer's morn,
When joy seems all so newly born,
When one day's sky is blue above,
And one bird sings,--and that is love.
A little sickening of the years,
The tribute of a few hot tears
Two folded hands, the failing breath,
And peace at last,--and that is death.
Just dreaming, loving, dying so,
The actors in the drama go--
A flitting picture on a wall,
Love, Death, the themes; but is that all?
Scheme | AABB CCDD XXEE FFGG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (75%) |
Metre | 01010101 01010111 01010101 01010111 01011101 11111101 11111101 01110111 010100101 01010111 11010101 01110111 11010101 01000101 01010101 11011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 534 |
Words | 106 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 102 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 32 sec read
- 86 Views
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"The Sum" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28953/the-sum>.
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