Analysis of Anecdote For Fathers
William Wordsworth 1770 (Wordsworth House) – 1850 (Cumberland)
I HAVE a boy of five years old;
His face is fair and fresh to see;
His limbs are cast in beautyÕs mold
And dearly he loves me.
One morn we strolled on our dry walk,
Or quiet home all full in view,
And held such intermitted talk
As we are wont to do.
My thoughts on former pleasures ran;
I thought of Kilve's delightful shore,
Our pleasant home when spring began,
A long, long year before.
A day it was when I could bear
Some fond regrets to entertain;
With so much happiness to spare,
I could not feel a pain.
The green earth echoed to the feet
Of lambs that bounded through the glade,
From shade to sunshine, and as fleet
From sunshine back to shade.
Birds warbled round me---and each trace
Of inward sadness had its charm;
Kilve, thought I, was a favoured place,
And so is Liswyn farm.
My boy beside me tripped, so slim
And graceful in his rustic dress!
And, as we talked, I questioned him,
In very idleness.
'Now tell me, had you rather be,'
I said. and took him by the arm,
'On Kilve's smooth shore, by the green sea,
Or here at Liswyn farm?'
In careless mood he looked at me,
While still I held him by the arm,
And said, 'At Kilve I'd rather be
Than here at Liswyn farm.'
'Now, little Edward, say why so:
My little Edward, tell me why.'---
'I cannot tell, I do not know.'---
'Why, this is strange,' said I;
'For, here are woods, hills smooth and warm:
There surely must one reason be
Why you would change sweet Liswyn farm
For Kilve by the green sea.'
At this, my boy hung down his head,
He blushed with shame, nor made reply;
And three times to the child I said,
'Why, :Edward, tell me why?'
His head he raised---there was in sight,
It caught his eye, he saw it plain---
Upon the house-top, glittering bright,
A broad and gilded vane.
Then did the boy his tongue unlock,
And eased his mind with this reply:
'At Kilve there was no weather-cock;
And that's the reaon why.'
O dearest, dearest boy! my heart
For better lore would seldom yearn,
Could I but teach the hundredth part
Of what from thee I learn.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ KLKL MXMX BLBL BLBL NONO XBLB POPO QHQH RORO STST |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (93%) Etheree (32%) |
Metre | 11011111 11110111 111101011 010111 111111011 11011101 01111 111111 11110101 11110101 101011101 011101 01111111 1101101 11110011 111101 01110101 11110101 1111011 11111 11011011 11010111 1111011 01111 11011111 01001101 01111101 010100 11111101 11011101 11111011 11111 01011111 11111101 01111101 11111 11010111 11010111 11011111 111111 11111101 11011101 1111111 111011 11111111 11111101 01110111 110111 11111101 11111111 010111001 010101 11011101 01111101 11111101 01011 11010111 11011101 11110101 111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,959 |
Words | 396 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 15 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 60 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 101 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 26 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 18, 2023
- 1:58 min read
- 201 Views
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"Anecdote For Fathers" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42140/anecdote-for-fathers>.
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