Analysis of To Rosabelle
Robert Louis Stevenson 1850 (Edinburgh) – 1894 (Vailima, Samoa)
WHEN my young lady has grown great and staid,
And in long raiment wondrously arrayed,
She may take pleasure with a smile to know
How she delighted men-folk long ago.
For her long after, then, this tale I tell
Of the two fans and fairy Rosabelle.
Hot was the day; her weary sire and I
Sat in our chairs companionably nigh,
Each with a headache sat her sire and I.
Instant the hostess waked: she viewed the scene,
Divined the giants' languor by their mien,
And with hospitable care
Tackled at once an Atlantean chair.
Her pigmy stature scarce attained the seat -
She dragged it where she would, and with her feet
Surmounted; thence, a Phaeton launched, she crowned
The vast plateau of the piano, found
And culled a pair of fans; wherewith equipped,
Our mountaineer back to the level slipped;
And being landed, with considerate eyes,
Betwixt her elders dealt her double prize;
The small to me, the greater to her sire.
As painters now advance and now retire
Before the growing canvas, and anon
Once more approach and put the climax on:
So she awhile withdrew, her piece she viewed -
For half a moment half supposed it good -
Spied her mistake, nor sooner spied than ran
To remedy; and with the greater fan,
In gracious better thought, equipped the guest.
From ill to well, from better on to best,
Arts move; the homely, like the plastic kind;
And high ideals fired that infant mind.
Once more she backed, once more a space apart
Considered and reviewed her work of art:
Doubtful at first, and gravely yet awhile;
Till all her features blossomed in a smile.
And the child, waking at the call of bliss,
To each she ran, and took and gave a kiss.
Scheme | AABBXXCCC DDEEFFGGHHIIXXBXXXJJK KLLMMNNOO |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111011101 0011101 1111010111 1101011101 1011011111 1011010100 11010101001 1010111 1101101001 1001011101 10101111 0111001 1011111 0101010101 1111110101 010101111 0101100101 010111101 1010110101 01010101001 0101010101 01110101010 1101010101 010101001 110101011 1101010111 1101010111 1001110111 1100010101 0101010101 1111110111 1101010101 0101101101 1111110101 0100010111 1011010101 1101010001 0011010111 1111010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,610 |
Words | 301 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 21, 9 |
Lines Amount | 39 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 429 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 100 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:30 min read
- 87 Views
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"To Rosabelle" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/31738/to-rosabelle>.
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