Analysis of Buxom Joan
William Congreve 1670 (Bardsey) – 1729 (London)
A soldier and a sailor,
A tinker and a tailor,
Had once a doubtful strife, sir,
To make a maid a wife, sir,
Whose name was Buxom Joan.
For now the time was ended,
When she no more intended
To lick her lips at men, sir,
And gnaw the sheets in vain, sir,
And lie o' nights alone.
The soldier swore like thunder,
He loved her more than plunder;
And showed her many a scar, sir,
That he had brought from far, sir,
With fighting for her sake.
The tailor thought to please her,
With offering her his measure.
The tinker too with mettle,
Said he could mend her kettle,
And stop up every leak.
But while these three were prating,
The sailor slily waiting,
Thought if it came about, sir,
That they should all fall out, sir,
He then might play his part.
And just e'en as he meant, sir,
To loggerheads they went, sir,
And then he let fly at her
A shot 'twixt wind and water,
That won this fair maid's heart.
Scheme | AAAABCCAAB AAAADAAEEX DXAAFAAAAF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (33%) |
Metre | 0100010 0100010 1101011 1101011 111101 1101110 1111010 1101111 0101011 011101 0101110 1101110 01010011 1111111 110101 0101110 11000110 0101110 1111010 0111001 111101 010110 1111011 1111111 111111 01111111 110111 0111110 0111010 111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 874 |
Words | 178 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 10, 10 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 227 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 58 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 11 Views
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"Buxom Joan" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/57001/buxom-joan>.
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