Analysis of A Man's a Man for A' That
Robert Burns 1759 (Alloway) – 1796 (Dumfries)
Is there for honesty poverty
That hings 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 toils obscure an' 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, tho' 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 ribband, star, an' a' that,
The man o' independent mind
He looks an' laughs at a' that.
A price can mak a belted knight,
A marquise, 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 rank 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,
That man to man, the world o'er,
Shall brithers be for a' that.
Scheme | xaxaAaxa babaAaxa xaxaAaxa cacaAada xadaAxa |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111100100 1111101 01011111 1111101 101101 10101101 0111011 0101101 1111111 111101 11110111 0101101 101101 1101101 010111011 1111101 1111101 1111101 11010111 1101101 101101 111101 0110101 1111101 01110101 011101 11101111 111111 101101 11101 01111111 1101101 11111111 1111101 110110001 1101101 101101 11110110 111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,263 |
Words | 261 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 7 |
Lines Amount | 39 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 174 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 52 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 1:21 min read
- 321 Views
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"A Man's a Man for A' That" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/30453/a-man%27s-a-man-for-a%27-that>.
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