Analysis of Mischief
Ann Taylor 1782 (Islington) – 1866
LET those who're fond of idle tricks,
Of throwing stones, and hurling bricks,
And all that sort of fun,
Now hear a tale of idle Jim,
That warning they may take by him,
Nor do as he has done.
In harmless sport or healthful play
He did not pass his time away,
Nor took his pleasure in it;
For mischief was his only joy:
No book, or work, or even toy,
Could please him for a minute.
A neighbour's house he'd slyly pass,
And throw a stone to break the glass,
And then enjoy the joke!
Or, if a window open stood,
He'd throw in stones, or bits of wood,
To frighten all the folk.
If travellers passing chanced to stay,
Of idle Jim to ask the way,
He never told them right;
And then, quite harden'd in his sin,
Rejoiced to see them taken in,
And laugh'd with all his might.
He'd tie a string across the street,
Just to entangle people's feet,
And make them tumble down:
Indeed, he was disliked so much,
That no good boy would play with such
A nuisance to the town.
At last the neighbours, in despair,
This mischief would no longer bear:
And so–to end the tale,
This lad, to cure him of his ways,
Was sent to spend some dismal days
Within the county jail.
Scheme | AABCCB DDXEEX FFGHHG DDIJJI KKLMML NNOPPO |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111011101 11010101 011111 11011101 11011111 111111 01011101 11111101 1111001 11011101 11111101 1111010 0111101 01011101 010101 11010101 11011111 110101 110010111 11011101 110111 01110011 01111100 011111 11010101 11010101 011101 01110111 11111111 010101 1101001 11011101 011101 11111111 11111101 010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,133 |
Words | 226 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 145 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 37 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:10 min read
- 48 Views
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"Mischief" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2945/mischief>.
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