Analysis of Death And The Woodman.
A poor wood-chopper, with his fagot load,
Whom weight of years, as well as load, oppress'd,
Sore groaning in his smoky hut to rest,
Trudged wearily along his homeward road.
At last his wood upon the ground he throws,
And sits him down to think o'er all his woes.
To joy a stranger, since his hapless birth,
What poorer wretch upon this rolling earth?
No bread sometimes, and ne'er a moment's rest;
Wife, children, soldiers, landlords, public tax,
All wait the swinging of his old, worn axe,
And paint the veriest picture of a man unblest.
On Death he calls. Forthwith that monarch grim
Appears, and asks what he should do for him.
'Not much, indeed; a little help I lack -
To put these fagots on my back.'
Death ready stands all ills to cure;
But let us not his cure invite.
Than die, 'tis better to endure, -
Is both a manly maxim and a right.
Scheme | ABBACCDDBEEAFFGG HIHI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 011101111 1111111101 1100110111 1100011101 1111010111 01111110111 1101011101 1101011101 1101010101 110101101 1101011111 0101101011 111111111 0101111111 1101010111 1111111 11011111 11111101 11110101 1101010001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 828 |
Words | 160 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 16, 4 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 322 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 79 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 24, 2023
- 48 sec read
- 107 Views
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"Death And The Woodman." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/55777/death-and-the-woodman.>.
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