Analysis of Thanksgiving
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
Let us be thankful--not only because
Since last our universal thanks were told
We have grown greater in the world's applause,
And fortune's newer smiles surpass the old--
But thankful for all things that come as alms
From out the open hand of Providence:--
The winter clouds and storms---the summer calms--
The sleepless dread--the drowse of indolence.
Let us be thankful--thankful for the prayers
Whose gracious answers were long, long delayed,
That they might fall upon us unawares,
And bless us, as in greater need, we prayed.
Let us be thankful for the loyal hand
That love held out in welcome to our own,
When love and only love could understand
The need of touches we had never known.
Let us be thankful for the longing eyes
That gave their secret to us as they wept,
Yet in return found, with a sweet surprise,
Love's touch upon their lids, and, smiling, slept.
And let us, too, be thankful that the tears
Of sorrow have not all been drained away,
That through them still, for all the coming years,
We may look on the dead face of To-day.
Scheme | ABAB XXXA CDCD EFEF GHGH CIXI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (83%) |
Metre | 1111011001 1110010101 1111000101 0101010101 1101111111 1101011100 0101010101 01010111 1111010101 1101001101 111101101 0111010111 1111010101 11110101101 110101101 0111011101 1111010101 1111011111 1001110101 1101110101 0111110101 1101111101 1111110101 1111011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,030 |
Words | 190 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 136 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 31 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 38 Views
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"Thanksgiving" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/21029/thanksgiving>.
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