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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