Analysis of Braggart

John Clare 1793 (Helpston) – 1864 (St Andrew's Hospital)



With careful step to keep his balance up
He reels on warily along the street,
Slabbering at mouth and with a staggering stoop
Mutters an angry look at all he meets.
Bumptious and vain and proud he shoulders up
And would be something if he knew but how;
To any man on earth he will not stoop
But cracks of work, of horses and of plough.
Proud of the foolish talk, the ale he quaffs,
He never heeds the insult loud that laughs:
With rosy maid he tries to joke and play,--
Who shrugs and nettles deep his pomp and pride.
And calls him 'drunken beast' and runs away--
King to himself and fool to all beside.


Scheme ABCDAECEDFGHGH
Poetic Form
Metre 1101111101 1111000101 1110101001 1011011111 101011101 0111011111 1101111111 1111110011 1101010111 1101001111 1101111101 1101011101 0111010101 1101011101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 598
Words 120
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 470
Words per stanza (avg) 117
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

36 sec read
253

John Clare

John Clare was an English poet in his time he was commonly known as the Northamptonshire Peasant Poet more…

All John Clare poems | John Clare Books

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