Analysis of Preaching Vs Practice

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919



It is easy to sit in the sunshine
And talk to the man in the shade;
It is easy to float in a well-trimmed boat,
And point out the places to wade.

But once we pass into the shadows,
We murmur and fret and frown,
And, our length from the bank, we shout for a plank,
Or throw up our hands and go down.

It is easy to sit in your carriage,
And counsel the man on foot,
But get down and walk, and you'll change your talk,
As you feel the peg in your boot.

It is easy to tell the toiler
How best he can carry his pack,
But no one can rate a burden's weight
Until it has been on his back.

The up-curled mouth of pleasure,
Can prate of sorrow's worth,
But give it a sip, and a wryer lip,
Was never made on earth.


Scheme XAXA XBXB XXXX CDXD CEXE
Poetic Form
Metre 111011001 01101001 11101100111 01101011 11110101 1100101 010110111101 111101011 1110110110 0100111 1110101111 11101011 11101101 11111011 11111011 01111111 0111110 11111 111010011 110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 704
Words 151
Sentences 6
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 106
Words per stanza (avg) 30
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

46 sec read
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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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