Analysis of What is Good

John Boyle O'Reilly 1844 (Dowth) – 1890 (Boston)



“What is the real good?'
I asked in musing mood.

Order, said the law court;
Knowledge, said the school;
Truth, said the wise man;
Pleasure, said the fool;
Love, said the maiden;
Beauty, said the page;
Freedom, said the dreamer;
Home, said the sage;
Fame, said the soldier;
Equity, the seer;—

Spake my heart full sadly:
'The answer is not here.'

Then within my bosom
Softly this I heard:
'Each heart holds the secret:
Kindness is the word.'


Scheme XX XAXAXBCBCD XD XEXE
Poetic Form
Metre 11011 110101 101011 10101 11011 10101 11010 10101 101010 1101 11010 10001 111110 010111 101110 10111 111010 10101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 451
Words 84
Sentences 5
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 2, 10, 2, 4
Lines Amount 18
Letters per line (avg) 18
Words per line (avg) 4
Letters per stanza (avg) 82
Words per stanza (avg) 20
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

24 sec read
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John Boyle O'Reilly

John Boyle O'Reilly was an Irish-born poet, journalist and fiction writer. more…

All John Boyle O'Reilly poems | John Boyle O'Reilly Books

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