Analysis of Song of Myself
Sir Walter Raleigh 1552 (Hayes Barton, East Budleigh, Devon) – 1618 (London)
I was a Poet!
But I did not know it,
Neither did my Mother,
Nor my Sister nor my Brother.
The Rich were not aware of it;
The Poor took no care of it.
The Reverend Mr. Drewitt
Never knew it.
The High did not suspect it;
The Low could not detect it.
Aunt Sue
Said it was obviously untrue.
Uncle Ned
Said I was off my head:
(This from a Colonial
Was really a good testimonial.)
Still everybody seemed to think
That genius owes a good deal to drink.
So that is how
I am not a poet now,
And why
My inspiration has run dry.
It is no sort of use
To cultivate the Muse
If vulgar people
Can't tell a village pump from a church steeple.
I am merely apologizing
For the lack of the surprising
In what I write
To-night.
I am quite well-meaning,
But a lot of things are always intervening
Between
What I mean
And what it is said
I had in my head.
It is all very puzzling.
Uncle Ned
Says Poets need muzzling.
He might
Be right.
Good-night!
Scheme | abccbbabbbddEeffgghhiijkffllmmllnneelEgmmm |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010 111111 101110 11101110 01010111 0111111 0100101 1011 0111011 0111011 11 111100001 101 111111 1100100 110010100 1100111 110101111 1111 1110101 01 1010111 111111 11001 11010 11010110110 11100100 10110010 0111 11 111110 1011111010 01 111 01111 11011 11110100 101 11011 11 11 11 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 989 |
Words | 189 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 42 |
Lines Amount | 42 |
Letters per line (avg) | 17 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 710 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 186 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 19, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 158 Views
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