Analysis of Birthdays
Let us have birthdays every day,
(I had the thought while I was shaving)
Because a birthday should be gay,
And full of grace and good behaving.
We can't have cakes and candles bright,
And presents are beyond our giving,
But let lt us cherish with delight
The birthday way of lovely living.
For I have passed three-score and ten
And I can count upon my fingers
The years I hope to bide with men,
(Though by God's grace one often lingers.)
So in the summers left to me,
Because I'm blest beyond my merit,
I hope with gratitude and glee
To sparkle with the birthday spirit.
Let me inform myself each day
Who's proudmost on the natal roster;
If Washington or Henry Clay,
Or Eugene Field or Stephen Foster.
oh lots of famous folks I'll find
Who more than measure to my rating,
And so thanksgivingly inclined
Their birthdays I'll be celebrating.
For Oh I know the cheery glow|
Of Anniversary rejoicing;
Let me reflect its radiance so
My daily gladness I'll be voicing.
And though I'm stooped and silver-haired,
Let me with laughter make the hearth gay,
So by the gods I may be spared
Each year to hear: "Pop, Happy Birthday."
Scheme | ABABCBCB DEDEFGFG AHAHIBIB JBJBKAKA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111001 110111110 0101111 011101010 11110101 0101011010 111110101 01111010 11111101 011101110 01111111 111111010 10010111 011101110 1111001 11010110 1101111 11101010 11001101 101111010 11110111 111101110 01101 1111100 11110101 10100010 110111001 11011110 01110101 111101011 11011111 11111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,096 |
Words | 208 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 219 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 51 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 04, 2023
- 1:04 min read
- 105 Views
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"Birthdays" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/32021/birthdays>.
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