Analysis of The Cupboard
Robert Graves 1895 (Wimbledon) – 1985 (Deià)
Mother: What's in that cupboard, Mary?
Mary: Which cupboard, mother dear?
Mother: The cupboard of red mahogany
With handles shining clear.
Mary: That cupboard, dearest mother,
With shining crystal handles?
There's nought inside but rags and jags
And yellow tallow candles.
Mother: What's in that cupboard, Mary?
Mary: Which cupboard, mother mine?
Mother: That cupboard stands in your sunny chamber,
The silver corners shine.
Mary: There's nothing there inside, mother,
But wool and thread and flax,
And bits of faded silk and velvet
And candles of white wax.
Mother: What's in that cupboard, Mary?
And this time tell me true.
Mary: White clothes for an unborn baby, mother..
But what's the truth to you?
Scheme | AbabcdedAfcfcghgAici |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) Etheree (20%) |
Metre | 101011010 10110101 10010110100 110101 101101010 1101010 11011101 0101010 101011010 10110101 101101011010 010101 1011010110 110101 011101010 010111 101011010 011111 101111111010 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 692 |
Words | 116 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 20 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 548 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 114 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 36 sec read
- 76 Views
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"The Cupboard" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/31182/the-cupboard>.
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