Analysis of A Baby In The House

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919



I knew that a baby was hid in that house,
 Though I saw no cradle and heard no cry;
But the husband was tip-toeing 'round like a mouse,
 And the good wife was humming a soft lullaby;
And there was a look on the face of the mother,
That I knew could mean only one thing, and no other.

The mother, I said to myself, for I knew
 That the woman before me was certainly that;
And there lay in a corner a tiny cloth shoe,
 And I saw on a stand such a wee little hat;
And the beard of the husband said, plain as could be,
'Two fat chubby hands have been tugging at me.'

And he took from his pocket a gay picture-book,
 And a dog that could bark, if you pulled on a string;
And the wife laid them up with such a pleased look;
 And I said to myself, 'There is no other thing
But a babe that could bring about all this, and so
That one thing is in hiding somewhere, I know.'

I stayed but a moment, and saw nothing more,
 And heard not a sound, yet I know I was right;
What else could the shoe mean that lay on the floor,
 The book and the toy, and the faces so bright;
And what made the husband as still as a mouse?
I am sure, very sure, there's a babe in that house.


Scheme ABABCC DEDEFF GHGHII JKJKAA
Poetic Form
Metre 11101011011 1111100111 101011101101 00111100110 011011011010 1111110110110 0101111111 101001111001 011001001011 011101101101 001101011111 11101111011 011111001101 001111111101 00111111011 01111111101 101111011101 1111010111 11101001101 01101111111 11101111101 01001001011 01101011101 111101101011
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,159
Words 245
Sentences 6
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 36
Words per line (avg) 10
Letters per stanza (avg) 217
Words per stanza (avg) 60
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:13 min read
287

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet. more…

All Ella Wheeler Wilcox poems | Ella Wheeler Wilcox Books

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