Analysis of For A' That
Robert Burns 1759 (Alloway) – 1796 (Dumfries)
Is there for honest poverty
That hangs his head, an' a' that?
The coward slave, we pass him by
We dare be poor for a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
Our toil's obscure, and a' that;
The rank is but the guinea's stamp,-
The man's the gowd for a' that.
What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hoddin' grey, an' a' that?
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine,-
A man's a man, for a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
Their tinsel show an' a' that;
The honest man, though e'er sae poor,
Is king o' men for a' that.
Ye see yon birkie ca'd a lord,
Wha struts an' stares an' a' that,-
Tho' hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a coof for a' that;
For a' that, an' a' that
His riband, star, and a' that;
The man o' independent mind,
He looks an' laughs at a' that.
A prince can mak' a belted knight
A marquis, duke, an' a' that;
But an honest man's aboon his might,-
Gude faith, he maunna fa' that!
For a' that, an' a' that;
Their dignities an' a' that,
The pith o' sense an' pride o' worth,
Are higher ranks than a' that.
Then let us pray that come it may,-
(As come it will for a' that),-
That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree an' a' that.
For a' that an' a' that,
It's coming yet for a' that,-
That man to man, the world o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that!
Scheme | xaxaAaxa babaAaxa xaxaAaxa cacaAada xadaAaxa |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (28%) |
Metre | 11110100 1111101 01011111 1111101 101101 10101001 0111011 0101101 1111111 111101 11110111 0101101 101101 1101101 010111011 1111101 1111101 1111101 11010111 1101101 101101 111001 0110101 1111101 01110101 011101 11101111 111111 101101 11101 01111111 1101101 11111111 1111101 110110001 1101101 101101 1101101 11110110 1101101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,292 |
Words | 272 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 179 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 53 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 10, 2023
- 1:24 min read
- 101 Views
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"For A' That" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/30494/for-a%27-that>.
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