Analysis of Wishing -- Or Fate And I
Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919
Wise men tell me thou, O Fate,
Art invincible and great.
Well, I own thy prowess; still
Dare I flount thee, with my will.
Thou canst shatter in a span
All the earthly pride of man.
Outward things thou canst control
But stand back - I rule my soul!
Death? 'Tis such a little thing -
Scarcely worth the mentioning.
What has death to do with me,
Save to set my spirit free?
Something in me dwells, O Fate,
That can rise and dominate.
Loss, and sorrow, and disaster,
How, then, Fate, art thou my master?
In the great primeval morn
My immortal will was born.
Part of the stupendous Cause
Which conceived the Solar Laws.
Lit the suns and filled the seas,
Royalest of pedigrees.
That great Cause was Love, the Source,
Who most loves has most of Force.
He who harbors hate one hour
Saps the soul of Peace and Power.
He who will not hate his foe
Need not dread life's hardest blow.
In the realm of brotherhood
Wishing no man aught but good.
Naught but good can come to me.
This is love's supreme decree.
Since I bar my door to hate,
What have I to fear, O Fate?
Since I fear not - Fate, I vow,
I the ruler am, not thou!
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFAAGGHHIJKKLLGGMMNNFFAAOO |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111111 1010001 1111101 1111111 1110001 1010111 1011101 1111111 1110101 1010100 1111111 1111101 1001111 111010 10100010 11111110 0010101 1010111 1100101 1010101 1010101 11100 1111101 1111111 11101110 10111010 1111111 1111101 001110 1011111 1111111 1110101 1111111 1111111 1111111 1010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,099 |
Words | 219 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 36 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 846 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 217 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:06 min read
- 119 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Wishing -- Or Fate And I" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/11009/wishing----or-fate-and-i>.
Discuss this Ella Wheeler Wilcox poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In