Analysis of Two Lives
John Boyle O'Reilly 1844 (Dowth) – 1890 (Boston)
TWO youths from a village set out together
To seek their fortune the wide world through;
One cried, 'Hurra for the autumn weather!'
The other sighed, 'Winter is almost due!'
One failed, they said, for he never was thrifty,
Returned to the village, and laughed and loved.
The other succeeded, and when he was fifty
Had millions and fame, and the world approved.
But the failure was happy, his smile a blessing,
The dogs and the children romped at his feet,
While from him who succeeded, tho' much possessing,
The little ones shrank when they chanced to meet.
One purchased respect by his lordly giving:
The other won love by his loving ways;
And if either had doubts of his way of living,
It wasn't the one with the humble days.
They never knew it, but both were teachers
Of deep life-secrets, these village youths—
The one of a school where Facts are preachers—
The other of a world that worships Truths.
Scheme | ABABCXCX DEDEDFDFGXGX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (25%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 11101011010 111100111 111101010 010110111 11111110110 0110100101 010010011110 1100100101 101011011010 0100101111 111101011010 0101111111 1100111110 0101111101 011011111110 1100110101 1101111010 111101101 0110111110 0101011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 910 |
Words | 166 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 12 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 354 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 81 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 49 sec read
- 118 Views
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"Two Lives" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22097/two-lives>.
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