Analysis of Arithmetic

Carl Sandburg 1878 (Galesburg) – 1967 (Flat Rock)



Arithmetic is where numbers fly like pigeons in and out of your
    head.
Arithmet ic tell you how many you lose or win if you know how
    many you had before you lost or won.
Arithmetic is seven eleven all good children go to heaven -- or five
    six bundle of sticks.
Arithmetic is numbers you squeeze from your head to your hand
    to your pencil to your paper till you get the answer.
Arithmetic is where the answer is right and everything is nice and
    you can look out of the window and see the blue sky -- or the
    answer is wrong and you have to start all over and try again
    and see how it comes out this time.
If you take a number and double it and double it again and then
    double it a few more times, the number gets bigger and bigger
    and goes higher and higher and only arithmetic can tell you
    what the number is when you decide to quit doubling.
Arithmetic is where you have to multiply -- and you carry the
    multiplication table in your head and hope you won't lose it.
If you have two animal crackers, one good and one bad, and you
    eat one and a striped zebra with streaks all over him eats the
    other, how many animal crackers will you have if somebody
    offers you five six seven and you say No no no and you say
    Nay nay nay and you say Nix nix nix?
If you ask your mother for one fried egg for breakfast and she
    gives you two fried eggs and you eat both of them, who is
    better in arithmetic, you or your mother?  


Scheme ABCDEFGHIJKLKHMNJOMJPQFPRH
Poetic Form
Metre 0101110111000111 1 111111011111111 1011011111 0101100101110111011 11011 01011011111111 11101110111010 0101101011010110 111110100101110 1011011111100101 01111111 111010010101010101 1010111010110010 0110010010010111 1010111111100 010111111001100 001010011011111 1111100101101101 110011011110110 1011010010111110 1011110011111011 111011111 111110111111001 1111101111111 10001011110
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 1,459
Words 286
Sentences 10
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 26
Lines Amount 26
Letters per line (avg) 42
Words per line (avg) 11
Letters per stanza (avg) 1,102
Words per stanza (avg) 284
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 26, 2023

1:26 min read
337

Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg was an American writer and editor best known for poetry. more…

All Carl Sandburg poems | Carl Sandburg Books

5 fans

Discuss this Carl Sandburg poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Arithmetic" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/4607/arithmetic>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    5
    hours
    15
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    The use of words and phrases to create mental images and evoke sensory experiences is called _______.
    A metaphor
    B imagery
    C symbolism
    D personification