Analysis of John Hancock Otis
Edgar Lee Masters 1868 (Garnett) – 1950 (Elkins Park)
As to democracy, fellow citizens,
Are you not prepared to admit
That I, who inherited riches and was to the manor born,
Was second to none in Spoon River
In my devotion to the cause of Liberty?
While my contemporary, Anthony Findlay,
Born in a shanty and beginning life
As a water carrier to the section hands,
Then becoming a section hand when he was grown,
Afterwards foreman of the gang, until he rose
To the superintendency of the railroad,
Living in Chicago,
Was a veritable slave driver,
Grinding the faces of labor,
And a bitter enemy of democracy.
And I say to you, Spoon River,
And to you, O republic,
Beware of the man who rises to power
From one suspender.
Scheme | ABCDEEFGHIJKDDEDLDD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010010100 11101101 1110100100110101 110110110 010101011100 11010010010 1001000101 101010010101 101001011111 100101010111 101101 10001 101000110 10010110 001010010100 01111110 0111010 01101110110 11010 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 657 |
Words | 124 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 19 |
Lines Amount | 19 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 526 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 122 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 37 sec read
- 90 Views
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"John Hancock Otis" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/8627/john-hancock-otis>.
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