Analysis of Life
Henrietta Cordelia Ray 1852 (New York City) – 1916 (New York City)
Life! Ay, what is it? E’en a moment spun
From cycles of eternity. And yet,
What wrestling ’mid the fever and the fret
Of tangled purposes and hopes undone!
What affluence of love! What vict’ries won
In agonies of silence, ere trust met
A manifold fulfillment, and the wet,
Beseeching eyes saw splendors past the sun!
What struggle in the web of circumstance,
And yearning in the wingèd music! All,
One restless strife from fetters to be free;
Till, gathered to eternity’s expanse,
Is that brief moment at the Father’s call.
Life! Ay, at best, ’tis but a mystery!
Scheme | ABBAABBACDECDE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111110101 1101010001 1101010001 1101000101 110011111 0100110111 010010001 010111101 110001110 0100011101 1101110111 1101101 1111010101 1111110100 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 602 |
Words | 99 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 435 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 99 |
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"Life" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/54098/life>.
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